Kerr calls LaVar Ball ‘Kardashian’ of NBA
During his pregame news conference Monday night at Oracle Arena, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr offered a lengthy, nuanced critique of ESPN’s coverage of LaVar Ball.
“I was thinking about ESPN, and they laid off, I don’t know, 100 people,” Kerr said. “How many people did they lay off over the last year? Well over 100, many of whom were really talented journalists covering the NBA. So, this is not an ESPN judgment, it’s a societal thing more than anything. Where we’re going is we’re going away from covering the game, and we’re going toward just sensationalized news. It’s not even news, really. It’s just complete nonsense. But if you package that irrational nonsense with glitter and some ribbon, people are going to watch.
“So, I talked to people in the media this year. I said, ‘Why do you guys have to cover that guy?’ And they say, ‘Well, we don’t want to, but our bosses tell us we have to because of the ratings, because of the readership.’ Somewhere, I guess in Lithuania, LaVar Ball is laughing. People are eating out of his hands for no apparent reason, other than that he’s become the Kardashian of the NBA or something.”
Kerr’s comments came a day after LaVar, the father of Lakers rookie guard Lonzo Ball, told ESPN that Lakers head coach and former Kerr assistant Luke Walton has lost the team.
“You can see they’re not playing for Luke no more,” said Ball, who is in Birstonas, Lithuania, as his two younger sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, prepare to make their professional debuts with Lithuanian team Prienu Vytautas. “Luke doesn’t have control of the team no more. They don’t want to play for him.”
This isn’t the first time Kerr has been critical of Ball.
During a radio interview in March, Kerr said that he thought Ball’s sons would be better off if their dad stopped making outlandish comments. Before the Warriors’ Nov. 19 win over Brooklyn, Kerr asked media members to stop covering Ball.
However, Kerr went further Monday, explaining why ESPN’s coverage of Ball is symptomatic of a larger societal issue.
“It doesn’t matter if there’s any substance involved in an issue,” Kerr said. “It’s just, ‘Can we make it really interesting for no apparent reason?’ There’s nothing interesting about that story. Do you know how many parents of my players have probably been at home like, ‘Man, he should be playing my kid?’ And yet, we’re sticking a microphone in his face because, apparently, it gets ratings.
“I don’t know who cares, but people care. Or else ESPN wouldn’t be spending what they’re spending to send reporters to Lithuania, when they laid off people who were writing really substantial pieces. People like Ethan Strauss and Marc Stein are getting laid off. This is not a condemnation of ESPN. It’s not. It’s a societal issue.”
Kerr has offered support to Walton, whom he considers one of his best friends.
“I feel horrible for Luke,” Kerr said. “He shouldn’t have to deal with this.”