Celebrity Basketball Fundraiser with Jadakiss Canceled Due to Protests

Jadakiss and D-Block were scheduled to take part in a celebrity fundraising basketball game in Stamford, Conn. on May 19. But the event has now been canceled over fear of violence and protest from community leaders and Black churches. According to The Stamford Advocate, Jere Eaton, a potential presidential candidate for the NAACP’s Stamford branch, emailed community leaders, asking to protest Jadakiss’ appearance due to his lyrical content and criminal behavior. Deborah Sewell, president and chief executive officer of the Yerwood Center, which hosts the event, canceled the basketball game after receiving more than 60 phone calls in protest. “I’m disappointed, because I really felt this would have been a great opportunity for the community to band together and show up in force,” Sewell told The Advocate. “They’ve [Jadakiss and D-Block] always been supportive of the community and they love to play basketball.” But Jere Eaton didn’t share Sewell’s sympathy. “All of these artists are the worst of the worst,” Eaton said in an interview. “They’re criminals, their favorite word is the N-word, and they demean woman by calling them bitches and hoes.” Reverend Tommie Jackson, pastor of Faith Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, was also one of the community leaders protesting the fundraising event. “The bottom line is we believe that the Yerwood Center needs to raise money,” Jackson said. “But there are better ways of doing it than bringing in Jadakiss.”