Jay-Z's Nets Arena To Be Named After Former Slave Trading Ba

by **848lu** » Jan 31st, '07, 13:17

Jay-Z's Nets Arena To Be Named After Former Slave Trading Bank

Reports have surfaced that the British bank that is paying $400 million to build a new arena for Jay-Z's New Jersey Nets was built on profits from the slave trade.
According to TMZ.com, Barclays Bank, which is shelling out $400 million over 20 years for naming rights for the Brooklyn arena, was founded by a family that profited from its ownership of slaves in the 18th century as well as being involved in controversial dealings with the South African government in the 1980s.

Hov, who made headlines last year by boycotting Cristal because of comments made by its managing director, has not responded to the controversial reports.

A representative for Barclays responded by saying its slave-trade past should be understood in the context of history and it will be spending $2.5 million on enhancing basketball courts all over Brooklyn.

Jay (born Sean Carter) joined forces with real estate developer Bruce Ratner and several other partners to purchase the Nets franchise in 2004 for $300 million. The group plans to have the Nets playing their first season in Brooklyn in 2009-10.

The team's new arena will reportedly be called the Barclays Center