Briggs joins Hawks family as club ambassador

The Illawarra Hawks are excited to announce that Indigenous Australian rapper Senator Briggs has joined the club as an ambassador.

The Shepparton-born hip hop artist has been a long-time basketball fan and followed the foundation club for close to a decade.

“The Illawarra Hawks reached out to me back in the 2012-13 season when Tyson Demos (who has the Hawks' Indigenous round player of the game medal named after him) was building some momentum around recognition and the Indigenous round," Briggs said.

"Since then, being the loyal guy I am, I've followed the Hawks - once I commit to a team, that's my team for life.

"Especially as the club continues to lead from the front in terms of the NBL's Indigenous round each year, which makes me really proud to be a part of the Hawks."

The 35-year-old Bad Apples Music record label artist, who has produced one EP (Homemade Bombs in 2009) and two albums (The Blacklist in 2010 and Sheplife in 2014), joins three-time UFC champion Alex Volkanovski as a Hawks ambassador.

"Being a basketball fan from the 1990s my NBA team was the Lakers ever since Ice Cube said they beat the super Sonic’s on his classic “It was a good day”," said the proud Yorta Yorta man.

"The NBL was something I followed on the peripheral, but the quality of basketball now is undeniable, the system creates and cultivates awesome talent. 

"Especially at the Hawks, which is led by Brian Goorjian, who is a phenomenal coach and basketball brain."

He also drew comparisons between his music/hip hop and sports cultures - highlighting how intertwined the two industries are.

"It’s been a tough couple years for music and sport has had to navigate those obstacles too - we’re not out of the woods yet but it definitely feels like we are on our way back," said Briggs, who has also appeared in numerous television series on ABC as both a writer and actor including Black Comedy, as well as a writer on the Netflix animated sitcom Disenchantment.

"There's plenty of crossover between the industries and I'm excited to help both brands grow together to the wider communities."

Hawks co-owner and president Dorry Kordahi said his club was thrilled to have Briggs join their Hawks family.

"Briggs is one of the top individuals in his chosen field, much like us, so it's awesome to have him join our club in an ambassador role," Kordahi said.

"It's also exciting to hear someone of Briggs' calibre have such nice words to say about our club, especially in terms of our commitment to our Indigenous rounds and heritage too.

"I have no doubt the teaming up of the two entities will help grow the two brands even more now and for years to come."