76ers Owner Teams Up with Meek Mill to Push Justice Reform

By Perry Green, AFRO Sports Editor, [email protected]

Philadelphia 76ers owner Michael Rubin recently told the media that he’s teaming up with famous Philly rapper Meek Mill to work on a major justice reform project.

According to Bleacher Report, Rubin talked about how he has developed a really special friendship with Meek Mill, who was recently released from prison after violating his probation on a sentence he received years ago as a young adult.

Mill was sentenced up to four years back in November 2017 by a judge who was eventually was accused of “taking inappropriate personal interest that goes above and beyond her role as a judge.” Rubin, along with several other high-profile celebrities and wealthy business owners, such as New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, advocated on behalf of Mill to be released early.

Rubin said he’s now motivated to help reform the entire justice system.

“Over the last six months, I’ve probably spent about a third of my time on criminal justice reform, because the whole system is totally broken… And I’ve never had something I cared about like this outside of my work, my family, my friends—I haven’t had that reaction in my body like I did the day [Meek Mill] was sentenced,” Rubin told Bleacher Report.

Rubin said his relationship with Meek helped open his eyes to conditions lesser fortunate people have to experience.

When [Judge Genece Brinkley] sentenced him to two to four years, he teared up, I teared up, and I looked at him and I said, ‘I won’t stop until we get you out of jail.’ To me, it was a life-changing event.

Now, Rubin is making it his mission to join other people in positions of power to change the landscape of the U.S. legal system.

“We’re taking on the whole criminal justice system now, and we’re gonna be announcing a major foundation soon,” Rubin told Bleacher Report. “I’m going to be highly involved with it, Meek’s going to be highly involved with it, and some other big people who you know and follow and care about will also be very involved with it. We think we can launch what will be the most impactful foundation within criminal justice reform and create a movement.”