Rapper and Philadelphia native Meek Mill was released from Chester State prison today after being incarcerated for over five months. Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Ruben announced via Instagram he would be picking up the rapper before taking him to Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Miami Heat:
Rubin and Mill formed an unlikely friendship when the rapper and his ex-girlfriend Nikki Minaj sat next to the Sixers’ co-owner and his daughter at a game years ago:
“We met four or five years ago at an NBA game when my daughter and I sat next to him and his ex, Nicki [Minaj], and once he figured out I was one of the owners of the Sixers and some other pretty big, internet companies he started asking me 1,000 business questions, ‘How do you do this?’ ‘Why’d you do this?’ ‘Did that work out?,” Rubin says of the spark that lit their now-close relationship. “I liked him. I would have had the stereotypical view, this guy is a hardcore rapper… I didn’t know who he was or what he did. But once he started telling me about his career I thought he would have an interesting business.”
The pair have become very close since the rapper was imprisoned for a probation violation in November 2017, as the billionaire visited him on multiple occasions along with budding young Sixers stars Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Markelle Fultz.
Rubin also announced Mill would be ringing the Sixers’ ceremonial bell pre-game, which the rapper did before tip-off at Wells Fargo Center sporting a Joel Embiid jersey:
Meek Mill rings the bell to open up the #Sixers game ??
Welcome home, @MeekMill ! pic.twitter.com/9KpNcyZBIH
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) April 25, 2018
After Mill faced months of controversy while imprisoned, it was only right that his first public appearance upon being released was at a Philadelphia 76ers home playoff game.
