The Richmond Roughriders indoor football team has a new celebrity owner. The 2-year old franchise is now partially owned by Jim Jones, a rapper signed to Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. Jones is known for his 2006 single, “We Fly High,” and shares ownership with sports agent Gregg Fornario and Michael Kacor. Earlier today, he also became known for some provocative statements about his plans for the team.
Jones was quoted in the New York Post offering contracts to former NFL quarterbacks Colin Kaepernick and Johnny Manziel. He offered Manziel, whose career suffered from off-field issues, a chance to get a “a couple of drinks” before each game. He also mentioned that kneeling during the national anthem, as some NFL players have done as a protest against police brutality, would be encouraged and he would make “beach chairs and piña coladas” available. Jones' comments were more muted during a press conference this afternoon at Richmond Coliseum.
“I bring a lot of things to the table,” he said, wearing one of team’s new jerseys and touting his music and entertainment connections. “These arenas need to be filled up … with that Roughriders spirit. That’s what I’m here for.”
Jones said his offer to Kaepernick still stands, but couldn’t say if the former San Francisco 49er had responded.
“I don’t know if I heard from him, but I believe that we made every headline in sports news this morning, so that was pretty good,” he says. “Hopefully he’ll hit us back. The offer still stands, man.”
The players of the Richmond Roughriders can expect to be still standing as well. Fornario said the league commissioner made it clear at a recent meeting that the America Arena League will be run like the National Basketball Association, which requires players to stand during the national anthem.
“We understand that it's a dividing topic and nobody wants to divide the fan base,” he says.
Jones is not the first celebrity to take an interest in the sport. Rockers Jon Bon Jovi (Philadelphia Soul ) and Kiss (LA Kiss) also owned franchises at one time. This is Jones’ first time being involved with a sports franchise, but he made it clear that he believes he’s backing a winner.
“We are the champions. If there was any game you’d want to watch in any sport, you’d want to watch the champs, I know that’s true in every sport,” Jones says. “Y’all should have some fun watching us.”
