New owner of revived Chicago Rush arena football team has local roots
CHICAGO (CBS) – The Arena Football League is relaunching after it folded back in 2019.
That means the return of the Chicago Rush, the 2006 Arena Bowl champions, which is back under new ownership.
Before the team's official announcement on Friday, CBS Sports Director Marshall Harris got an exclusive interview with the Rush's new owner who hails from the south suburbs, and learned he has plenty of experience entertaining the masses.
It was a sign representing just how far Ernest "Tuo" Clark has come from the Harvey street on which he was raised.
"Coming back in the community is always a humbling experience, man, because I actually played on these streets, on the blocks with my friends," Clark said. "We really did have a good time, man."
The street was named after him because, as half of a music producer team, the Interns, Clark was nominated for nine Grammys and sold more than 100 million records.
He decided college was not for him and found the music career in Hollywood that he'd been chasing.
Harris: "What's your proudest moment as a producer?"
Clark: "So, the proudest moment as a producer is to know that you got a birthday anthem across the world."
Clark was referring to the "Birthday Chick."
"So that song is so vast across the board that you said if you ever wanted to hit record, create a birthday record. It's gonna last forever," he said.
Clark's success as a producer led to a new role as Def Jam Records' senior vice president of artists and repertoire.
Now, he's ready to crank out hits of a different kind as the owner of the reborn AFL's Chicago Rush, which will restart next spring.
"I'm excited!" Clark said. "I'm nervous. I got anxiety. I want to be like, 'Yo, we gotta win!'"
Clark was initially only going to serve as the AFL's president of creative experience. After first saying no when asked if he was interested in ownership of the Rush, he hit rewind.
"It was like, 'You know what? Let's do it,'" he said. "Just like music, I didn't know what I was doing, but I learned through trial and error, and it's the same thing now, man. I'm gonna put the right ownership group around me and we're gonna make some things happen."
For Clark, owning a team is about more than wins and losses.
"So, for me to envision how the Chicago Rush are working in the community," he said. "Throw clinics, throw panels, throw different fundraising for a different community school areas."
He went from his hometown to Hollywood and now back again, serving as owner and an example.
"To gain a team and create this opportunity for people to keep their dream alive, I mean, come on man, you can't beat that," he said. "And I'm all about the dream, because I once was a dreamer and I made the dream happen."
No decision has been made yet on where the Rush will play when the season starts in April.
Clark has a general manager and coaching staff in place. The next step will be signing players for the team.
There will be league-wide combine and local tryouts in the coming days.
