Should Ice Cube Be Called Out for Letting The Gatekeepers Keep Him Quiet During His First Take Appearance with Stephen A. Smith?

Maybe or maybe not. Ice Cube has been in the news lately following the announcement on Twitter, Instagram, and other places of his "F--- The Gatekeepers" Podcast Tour. Ice Cube had the opportunity to bring this issue to the forefront of the national sports consciousness on FIRST TAKE with Stephen A. Smith last week, however for whatever reason, he never said a word about how he feels about how the NBA's treatment and relationship with The BIG3 has affected the growth of the league.
 

Ice Cube did however go to a number of other platforms in the New York City area such as The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God and DJ Envy to discuss why he feels the NBA is responsible for trying to stop The Big3 league from growing.

@breakfastclubam 🚨 @icecube let’s us in on #Big3 ♬ original sound - The Breakfast Club

In Ice Cube's defense, First Take is not a podcast and The Breakfast Club is not only a radio show, a television show, but also a podcast. So technically First Take can't be a part of a “podcast tour”.

But shouldn't Ice Cube be called out for being mum on the subject with Stephen A? 

Well...


Television sports talk shows such as First Take and media outlets often have specific time constraints and editorial guidelines that can impact the flow of conversations and the expression of guests' views. It's possible that Ice Cube faced limitations in expressing his thoughts due to these factors. Outside of going rogue on the broadcast, Ice Cube couldn't bring up the subject because Stephen A. Smith never asked the question. There seems to be some gatekeeping right there.


Translation: ESPN didn't want any smoke from the NBA on a less than favorable appearance by Ice Cube on First Take based on a question asked by Smith. 


The result: Ice Cube was clearly irritated by the questions offered up by Smith. Ice Cube's main reason for appearing on the show was to promote the league's appearance in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center. You be the judge. (Ice Cube was not thrilled about talking about the Lakers and the line of questioning by Stephen A. using the phrase “your Lakers.”) We're pretty sure Ice Cube is not a fan of the NBA and lesser of a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers than he once was.






Seven months ago Ice Cube brought the fire we expected on this current "F--- The Gatekeepers" Podcast Tour when he said Adam Silver not embracing The BIG3 will be his downfall on the Bootleg Kev podcast. 



All and all there's more that the NBA could be doing and media outlets can do to partner with and cover The BIG3. Here's a thought, Stephen A. Smith has his own podcast. His next guest should be Ice Cube.