Is Eminem Joining Bid To Bring WNBA Team To Detroit?
Eminem has reportedly joined a collective group led by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores to help bring a WNBA franchise to the city
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Detroit is trying to bring back a WNBA team as the league anticipates adding an expansion team, and now, “8 Mile” rapper Eminem has reportedly joined a collective group led by Detroit Pistons owner Tom Gores that features Chris Webber and Grant Hill.
According to Sportico, Marshall Mathers, known to the world as Eminem, is getting down with the Detroit group in hopes of swaying the WNBA to select their city to bring a team to Michigan.
The city did have a team from 1998 to 2009, the Detroit Shock. They were a championship-winning team that brought home three titles before the team left the city to move to Tulsa. After relocating to Tulsa, the team then moved to Texas to play in Arlington, and now they are the Dallas Wings.
The group that is trying to bring a WNBA back to Detroit also includes the team owners of three other local teams in various sports, along with the NBA’s Pistons owner. Hockey’s Detroit Red Wings, baseball’s Detroit Tigers, and football’s Detroit Lions.
Others involved in the investment group include principal owner and Chair of the Detroit Lions, Sheila Ford Hamp and her husband, Steve, chairman of the Michigan Education Excellence Foundation and New Economy Initiative; CEO and chair of the General Motors Company, Mary Barra and her husband, Tony; Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and his wife, Christen; Arn and Nancy Tellem.
“Michiganders are fired up,” Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitner said in a statement. “Our passion for our teams and players is unmatched, our commitment to our communities remains unwavering, and our vision for women’s sports is crystal clear.”
If awarded a franchise, the team will play its games at Little Caesars Arena.
With several cities vying to join the WNBA, there may be a chance that the league welcomes as many as three new teams. There are already expansion plans that will bring new franchises from San Francisco, Toronto, and Portland in upcoming seasons.