Newark, NJ – June 13, 2022 – Mayor Ras J. Baraka joined Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neil, community youth, and others to unveil The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation’s and long-time partner Icy Hot®’s newly renovated second “Comebaq Court” – a refurbishment effort for existing public basketball courts that could use some TLC. The Comebaq Court is located at David L. Warner Park, 400 Hawthorne Avenue, 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.

“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.”

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

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.”

For more details on Comebaq Courts, visit the @IcyHot Instagram page.

About the Shaquille O’Neal Foundation

The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation creates pathways for underserved youth, helping them achieve their full potential. Established in 2019 by the NBA Hall of Famer, television sports analyst, and entrepreneur Shaquille O’Neal, the Foundation works to instill hope and bring about change in communities, collectively shaping a brighter future for our children. While primarily partnered with Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Communities in Schools, the Foundation will simultaneously support Shaquille’s other charitable endeavors, such as his annual Shaq-a-Claus holiday event and initiatives alongside his corporate partners. For more information, visit shaqfoundation.org.

About Icy Hot®

As America’s No. 1 topical pain relief brand among OTC topical analgesics Icy Hot® makes powerful over-the-counter pain relief products that fuel your resilience to rise from pain. Our extensive line of products provides powerful, fast-acting relief to give you targeted therapy. Icy to dull the pain. Hot to relax it away ®. The Icy Hot® brand is brought to you by Sanofi, a global biopharmaceutical company that provides over-the-counter drugs such as topical analgesics, allergy medications, gas, constipation and heartburn medications, medicated skin products, as well as cosmetics and dietary supplements.

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For more information on the City of Newark, please visit our website at www.newarknj.gov

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