The New Jersey Nets have a new star – but don’t look for him at the free-throw line.
Entertainer Bill Cosby has bought a piece of the pro basketball team, and a couple of courtside seats to boot, his spokesman said yesterday.
Cosby, who has donated tens of millions of dollars to charity, was attracted to the Nets’ new-found commitment to inner-city youth and eradicating urban blight.
“This vision and this approach is absolutely consistent with what Mr. Cosby stands for. He’s proud and excited to be part of it,” said the funnyman’s spokesman, David Brokaw.
The co-chairman of the team’s new ownership group, Lewis Katz, is a buddy of Cosby’s from their days at Temple University in Philadelphia.
Hoop star Jayson Williams, who has agreed to a new contract with the Nets, is also a pal of Cos, who was taping his TV show and couldn’t be reached for comment.
Team officials would say only that Cosby – who is worth an estimated $325 million, thanks to his phenomenally successful TV sitcoms, books and comedy – plunked down millions for his undisclosed share.
“He likes our team, knows Jayson Williams well and likes what this represents in terms of setting a good example,” said Katz, who was a parking-lot magnate before he bought into the NBA team.
Under a $150 million ownership transfer announced last month, a trust fund called the Community Youth Organization is the largest shareholder in the Nets.
All profits the trust earns will be dedicated to minority education and kids in Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Camden and Trenton.
Net President Michael Rowe told the Newark Star-Ledger that Cosby has the “star quality and enormous energy to attract more people into the goals and mission” of the team.
The NBA on Wednesday approved Cosby, 61, as a Net owner.
The team said he also bought stock in the Community Youth Organization and two courtside seats for home games.
“Bill Cosby loves sports. He’s a huge sports fan,” Brokaw said.
The Nets’ new vision, which clashes with the money-grubbing image of some NBA teams, includes:
*Lowering ticket prices. The Nets want to set aside 1,000 seats per game that will cost no more than $6 each.
*A mentoring program that will pair Net players with underprivileged kids.
*A new arena to be built in downtown Newark, sparking economic revitalization in the gritty city.
There are at least 15 partners in the new ownership consortium.
“These are all very wealthy people,” Rowe said when the ownership transfer was announced last month.
“They did not buy this to make money, or for great seats, or for free parking, or free hot dogs, although they’ll get that … They just happen to believe good deeds can be contagious.”