Shaq and Icy Hot Unveil Comebaq Court in Newark

On Jun 17, 2022

Building on the success of their 2021 work, The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation and long-time partner Icy Hot announced their second “Comebaq Court” – a refurbishment effort for existing public basketball courts – in Newark, Shaquille O’Neal’s hometown.

This court from The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation and Icy Hot follows the October 2021 Comebaq Court that opened in Las Vegas. Since then, Shaquille O’Neal, his Foundation, and Icy Hot have been developing plans to support additional communities with Comebaq Courts in 2022, including Newark.

“Giving back through this Comebaq Court in my hometown is really special,” Shaquille O’Neal said. “This effort will have a lasting impact on a community near and dear to my heart.”

“Shaquille O’Neal is a Newark native who has brought this city glory and fame on the NBA court and given back to us through community commitment and investment,” Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka said. “The new ‘Comebaq Court’ is another example of these works, that will greatly benefit our youth. It will rapidly become part of our state-of-the-art recreation programs that keep our youth engaged and healthy.”

Not all communities have the resources available to rebuild places to play. According to the Aspen Institute, local athletic programs that typically serve youth at scale won’t be able to recover from the struggles of the past few years at the same pace as larger, organized student sports teams with private resources. The “Comebaq Courts” project seeks to mitigate such inequities by offering updated spaces for athletes to resume community sports activities.

“We’re overjoyed to continue our partnership with Shaq’s foundation and to continue revitalizing spaces to play and help young athletes in the Newark community get game ready,” said Helene Pamon, Head of Pain and Sleep, US Consumer Health at Sanofi. “We’re passionate about helping these athletes rise from pain and are delighted to open a Comebaq Court in Newark.”

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