Rappers Jay-Z and Meek Mill Partner With Sports Execs To Launch Criminal Justice Reform Coalition

(CelebrityAccess) — Rappers Jay-Z and Meek Mill have partnered with some of the country’s most notable sports team owners to launch The Reform Alliance, a newly-established organization that is committed to criminal justice reform in the United States.

REFORM is backed by a bi-partisan and diverse group of sports, entertainment and business leaders, including Mill and Shawn Jay-Z Carter, as well as Philadelphia 76ers co-owner and Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin; Kraft Group CEO and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft; Brooklyn Nets co-owner and philanthropic investor Clara Wu Tsai; Third Point LLC CEO and founder Daniel S. Loeb; Galaxy Digital CEO and founder Michael E. Novogratz; Vista Equity Partners founder, chairman and CEO Robert F. Smith.

To further that goal, the partnership has pledged an eye-popping $50 million for the cause and on Wednesday, the Reform Alliance announced that activist and political pundit Van Jones has been tapped to serve as the organization’s CEO.

In his role with the REFORM Alliance, Jones will oversee the implementation of the organization’s mission to drastically reduce the number of people who are enmeshed in the criminal justice system while working to change laws and public opinion.

A Yale-educated attorney, Jones has spent nearly 25 years laboring on social change causes, with a recurring focus on criminal justice issues.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Jones said. “I have spent my entire adult life preparing myself to help lead an initiative of this magnitude. I’m looking forward to working with this powerful group of founders to disrupt the status quo and shift the criminal justice system landscape for generations to come.”