LAS VEGAS, Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- To help kids within underserved communities get back in the game on local basketball courts, The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation is teaming up with long-time partner Icy Hot to donate $1 for each product sold up to $300,000 to create Comebaq Courts – basketball courts that could use some TLC, such as refurbished and freshly designed blacktop, baskets, and other elements. The new courts, which will be unveiled later this year, will be located in Las Vegas, Nevada and Newark, New Jersey.

To raise additional awareness and give supporters a chance to contribute to the cause, Icy Hot® and The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation will host the "Icy Hot x NBA 2K22 Charity Game" on gaming platform Twitch on Monday, October 18th from 5:00 – 7:00pm ET. Shaquille O'Neal will host the event alongside Kristopher London. Top streamers and professional gamers will be in attendance, including WNBA star Aerial Powers (LIQUID_Powerzsurge), Nicholas Amyoony (NickEh30), and more.

"I'm thrilled to help continue Icy Hot's commitment to young athletes, extending our work last year with the Get Game Ready program," Shaquille O'Neal said. "This collaboration between Icy Hot and The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation to create Comebaq Courts will allow athletes and communities to rise from the struggles of the last year and get back in the game – right in their own backyards."

Not all communities have the resources available to rebuild healthy places to play. According to the Aspen Institute, local athletic programs that typically serve youth at scale won't be able to recover 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 could not be more thrilled to partner with The Shaquille O'Neal Foundation for this exciting and worthwhile endeavor of revitalizing healthy places to play, so athletes in underserved communities can get back in the game," said Alberto Hernandez, Head of Pain and Sleep, US Consumer Health at Sanofi. "Our mission has always been to help young athletes rise from pain. As we enter this new normal, we're committed to helping the Las Vegas and Newark communities return to play and are excited to leverage one of young athletes' favorite downtime activities to do it – gaming."

The court unveiling in Las Vegas will be held on Saturday, October 23. The Newark court will be unveiled at a later date during Fall 2021. For more details on Comebaq Courts or the Icy Hot x NBA 2K22 Charity Game Twitch event, visit IcyHot.com/GetBackInTheGame.

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.  

CONTACT: Braden Bradley, [email protected]

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SOURCE The Shaquille O’Neal Foundation