NFL player Sauce Gardner has partnered with a company that is improving player safety. According to a press release shared with AFROTECH™, New York Jets cornerback Gardner is teaming up with Q30 Innovations, a company within the medical equipment manufacturing industry that has released Q-Collar, “the first and only FDA-cleared device to reduce traumatic brain injury.” This followed more than a decade of work, which included 25 pre-clinical and clinical studies with design and production occurring alongside neuroscientists, physicians, independent researchers, and engineers before it was cleared by the FDA in 2021, its website mentions. Photo Credit: Q30 Innovations The device creates light pressure to the neck to increase the blood volume inside the head, which helps reduce the brain’s movement if it receives a direct blow. That movement is often the main cause of brain injury, per the company’s website. Gardner purchased the device because he was in search of preventative measures...

It’s official! Detroit will have its own WNBA team, backed by familiar and notable names. NBA legends Grant Hill and Chris Webber are minority team owners of the new WNBA team. As AFROTECH™ reported, Hill and Webber joined a bid in January 2025, led by Tom Gores, the owner of the Detroit Pistons, to secure a stake in bringing a WNBA team to Detroit. Both Webber and Hill had once played in the city, representing the NBA. Now, halfway through the year, the group — which also includes football quarterback Jared Goff — has much to celebrate, as their bid for a WNBA team has been approved. The team is set to launch and begin competing by 2029, with Little Caesars Arena as its home base and a new practice facility in development, according to CBS News. “This is a huge win for Detroit and the WNBA,” Gores said, per the outlet. “Today marks the long-hoped-for return of the WNBA to a city with deep basketball roots and a championship tradition.” He added, “Detroit played a key role in the...

Martha’s Vineyard is a place of solitude for Black families during the summer. The island in Dukes County, MA, was recently featured in the popular Netflix series “Forever” directed by the legendary creator of “Girlfriends,” Mara Brock Akil. In the new show, characters Keisha Clark (played by Lovie Simone) and Justin Edwards (played by Michael Cooper Jr.) reconnect in Martha’s Vineyard after a breakup. Edwards’ family resides particularly in Oak Buff each summer. History Of Martha’s Vineyard Explained Furthermore, the location of their reconnection was intentional, per Brock Akil, who lives part-time in Martha’s Vineyard, according to Netflix. The series is adapted from Judy Blume’s 1975 YA novel of the same name, and Episode 5 takes viewers to Martha’s Vineyard, serving as a love letter to the island. “Understanding the essence of the island, even in the way it shaped the story, is important,” Brock Akil told Netflix. “You think you’re just arriving on the island, and you don’t...

It’s a full-circle moment for Carmelo Anthony as he finds himself back where his journey first began. In 2022, the former NBA player made his foray into the wine sector with the launch of the global wine estate brand VII(N), as AFROTECH™ previously told you. He had shown an interest in wine more than a decade ago. While playing for the New York Knicks, he drank a bottle of Petrus, which played a pivotal role in his desire to create a wine profile, but instead for daily use. “I obviously know I couldn’t drink Petrus as my go-to wine every day, but I was chasing that taste profile, and it’s impossible to find it anywhere else. You just can’t. But I had to come down to earth and start figuring out what I could drink on a daily basis. I do have a very high taste profile, I must say,” he explained, according to Haute Living. While playing in New York, Anthony also adds that he was expanding not only his palette but also his network. His time in the city cemented his need to become a more...

Detroit, MI, native Eminem is joining a list of individuals, such as former NBA players Grant Hill and Chris Webber, to bring a WNBA team to the city, according to Sportico. The 15-time Grammy Award-winning rapper — born Marshall Mathers — is part of a group led by Tom Gores and the Detroit Pistons. “This is an exciting opportunity to welcome the WNBA back to Detroit and bring additional investment and economic activity into the city,” Gores said previously, per AFROTECH™. “For the WNBA, this is home, and our bid represents an unprecedented opportunity for the league to come full circle and effect a long-hoped-for Detroit homecoming. No city is more prepared to embrace the team as a community asset that drives unity and common ground.” According to Sportico, the franchise would play at Little Caesars Arena, which cost $863 million to build and is home to the Pistons and Red Wings. As AFROTECH™ previously reported, Michigan’s largest city had a WNBA team called the Detroit Shock from...

Snoop Dogg is going where the money is. Snoop Dogg, who acquired Death Row Records in 2022, shared the low payout he received from streaming. After receiving 1 billion streams on Spotify, he recalls being compensated only $45,000, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. “In the streaming world, I can show you right now. They just sent me some sh-t from Spotify, where I got a billion streams, right? My publisher hit me. I said, ‘Break that down, how much money is that?’ That sh-t wasn’t even $45,000… You see what I’m saying? So it’s like…when this sh-t came out, I could tell an artist that same song that you put out traditionally that didn’t make no money, give it to me. Every time you sell it if somebody else sells it you get 10% of it,” Snoop said on the “Business Untitled” podcast. However, in response, a Spotify spokesperson said: “We can’t speak to endorsement deals for Web3 companies but…$45,000 for a billion streams? It’s well documented that a billion streams on Spotify generates...

MYAVANA is bringing its hair care technology to Africa. Candace Victoria Mitchell is the mastermind behind the company, which launched with a $1,000 investment and a vision to ensure improved hair health for Black women, as AFROTECH™ previously told you. “Originally, my ‘why’ was really to provide a more personalized approach for people to really be seen and heard in the beauty industry,” Mitchell said in an interview with AFROTECH™. “Because, at the time, there were not many products catered to women of color or textured hair. And it just felt like it was just a huge oversight, and we were just kinda out there figuring it out on YouTube. I feel that hair is deeply connected to our purpose and identity, especially in Black culture. So my ‘why’ was just deeply rooted in people understanding who they are and also having the technology that could cater to our personalized journeys.” Technologies released include MYAVANA HairAI, which provides a detailed hair analysis followed by...

Issa Rae proudly represents her home state as a powerhouse actress, producer, and entrepreneur. The Los Angeles, CA, native, well known for her rise from “ Awkward Black Girl” to “Insecure” continues to stretch herself in new ways. “ One of Them Days,” featuring SZA and Keke Palme r, made its way to the big screen in 2025, marking Rae’s first feature film released under her production company, Hoorae. According to Variety and Collider, the film made $22.2 million after its first two weekends, including the extended Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Issa Rae (@issarae) Just a few months earlier, Rae made a new dent in the hospitality space, opening Somerville in South Los Angeles, a restaurant offering a “progressive American dining experience.” This marked her second food and drinks venture, as she had expanded Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen to the city in 2023, per Forbes. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Issa Rae (@issarae) Rae has...