The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Parents should resolve to never be like LaVar Ball
Parents of any child with athletic skill should cut out a picture of LaVar Ball, tape it somewhere so he or she can see it every day, and vow, “I will never be a basketball/baseball/ football/gymnastics dad or mom like this guy.”
LaVar Ball is the obnoxious, overbearing, pigheaded father of Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball.
Lonzo Ball and the Lakers were at The Q on Dec. 14 to play the Cavaliers. The old man wasn’t in attendance, but Lonzo’s brothers were.
Somewhere along the way, the patriarch of the Ball family got the notion what he says or does is important. The media encourages that delusion by flocking to him anytime he might open his mouth. He exploits his son to make money and gain notoriety for his Big Baller Brand, a company that charges outrageous prices for shoes, hats and other clothing all so young people can be just like Lonzo Ball.
Lonzo’s middle brother, LiAngelo Ball, 19, had been attending UCLA and playing for the Bruins basketball team as a stepping stone to the NBA. LiAngelo and two of his teammates were caught shoplifting in China last month while the UCLA team was there to play basketball.
UCLA suspended LiAngelo and the other two indefinitely, so LaVar pulled his son out of college. Now LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball are getting ready to play professionally in Lithuania — an armpit of a place for American athletes, according to a former University of Wisconsin player who ended up there after being cut by the Bucks. LaVar Ball sees it as an opportunity market Big Baller Brand in Europe.
LaMelo Ball, the youngest of the three Ball brothers (16), should be playing at Chino Hills High School in California, but he left to be homeschooled because his father did not get along with the Chino Hills basketball coach.
So LaVar Ball is teaching his children; “If you have a problem, run from it. Don’t confront it.”
Recently, Lakers executives, including President of Basketball Operations Magic Johnson, met with LaVar Ball to tell him to tone down criticizing Lakers coach Luke Walton. The Lakers took a 10-16 record into their game with the Cavaliers.
Ball said the conversation with Johnson was good, and then added, “But I am going to say, to plant a seed, ‘Let’s look for this now.’ They may not want to hear that, but it’s going to be successful if you listen to what I’m saying on that fact that I know what it takes for my son to run like this.”
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was asked how he would deal with a parent as intrusive as LaVar Ball.
“I don’t know,” Lue said. “I’m just happy to be here.”
This is the same guy who drew a technical foul coaching his son LaMelo’s AAU basketball team in July. The referee who T’d him up is a woman. LaVar Ball threatened to take his team off the floor if the female referee wasn’t replaced.
Adidas, organizers of the tournament, basically said, “OK, Mr. Ball. Whatever you say, Mr. Ball.” The female referee was replaced, and guess what? Ball drew another technical foul.
A second technical foul carries an ejection. LaVar Ball refused to leave, according to eyewitnesses. The referee ended the game early and Ball’s team lost, 53-43.
This whole act is just a twisted way to promote his Big Baller Brand, particularly his ungodly expensive shoes. Lonzo Ball’s signature Z02 shoes cost $495 a pair before Lonzo was even drafted. By comparison, LeBron James’ shoes got for $185.
Shannon Sharpe, in an interview with LaVar Ball on Fox Sports in May, was critical of the cost of the shoes.
“I expected this reaction,” Ball said. “The fact that people are losing sight — they’re looking at the price tag and not understanding that Lonzo’s shoe is symbolic. That comes with a price tag. Symbolic as he’s the first one ever to come in here without even playing a game and have his own brand.
“See, my son will wear my shoe. It’s a family thing. I’m giving him a choice. He can wear any shoe he wants, but why wouldn’t he want to wear something that’s your own?”
Don’t you just want to slap a piece of duct tape across LaVar Ball’s mouth?
There might be a bright side to LaVar Ball being such a pain in the rear end for everybody. Maybe LeBron James will decide to stay three time zones away from Ball when he can become a free agent next summer.
James has respect for Lonzo Ball, but if he signs with the Lakers, a rumor that has been out for six months, James would be stuck with LaVar Ball.
It doesn’t take a leap to imagine LaVar Ball criticizing “aging LeBron James” if James takes the spotlight from Lonzo Ball.
Maybe the snow won’t seem so bad the more James thinks about what might await in sunny California.
Schudel can be reached at JSchudel@News-Herald. com; on Twitter: @jsproinsider