OAKLAND, Calif. – Oakland Roots and Soul Sports Club announced on Thursday that NBA and Olympic champion and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Jason Kidd had become the latest Oakland icon to join the organization’s ownership group.

“Growing up in Oakland made me who I am today,” said Kidd, the current Head Coach of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. “Participating in youth sports defined my journey and soccer was one of the first sports I played. We always had our athlete heroes from the Bay Area to look up to.

“Between my love for Oakland, the game of soccer, and my mission to create equality for female athletes in their respective sports, I knew I had to get involved with Oakland Roots and Soul so that all youth growing up in Oakland would always have a team in the city to support and aspire to.”

Following the conclusion of his playing career, Kidd founded a 501c3, JK Select, Inc., with a mission of empowering young women and creating equality for female athletes in sports and beyond. In 2020, the foundation started sponsoring basketball programs in the Bay Area for female athletes at the high school and youth level.

JK Select, Inc. has garnered tremendous success over the last three years, achieving remarkable milestones, with players collectively receiving more than 250 Division 1 scholarship offers, totaling an astounding $75,000,000 in offers. This achievement is further underlined by an impressive 34 NCAA Division I commitments.

Kidd joins Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, NFL legend Marshawn Lynch, global rap star G-Eazy, and NFL quarterback Josh Johnson as part-owners of Oakland Roots and Soul SC.

Roots and Soul fans can still join the club’s ownership via the Community Investment Round, which launched on September 13th. Fans aged 18 and older can become a part-owner for as little as $100 at wefunder.com/oakland. More than 4,500 new owners have invested more than $2,600,000 into the club, making it one of the most successful Community Investment Rounds in the United States.

The Community Investment Round closes on Tuesday, October 31st at 8:59PM PT.