Basketball Sports

What is your real problem with Mr. Lavar Ball?
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If you follow American basketball, more precisely college basketball in the US, chances are you’ve heard of a man named Lavar Ball. He’s the father of three outstanding future NBA players: UCLA freshman and oldest brother Lonzo Ball, high school senior LiAngelo Ball, and sophomore LaMelo Ball, the youngest and my personal favorite of all of them.

But Mr. Ball is not on heavy rotation in American sports news, just because he is the father of 3 prodigies. He’s also on the news because of his mouth. To say Mr. Ball is extremely outspoken would be a laughable understatement. Depending on who you ask, this man is either the world’s best dad, or he’s completely out of control.

The world has known Lavar Ball for about 3 months now, and in that time he’s made several ridiculous statements, that have rubbed people the wrong way. Here are some examples: He said that in his prime he’d “kill” Michael Jordan 1 on 1…He said his oldest son Lonzo,

Lavar Ball attending a basketball game
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images

was better than Steph Curry, whose a two-time consecutive MVP (and the only unanimous one), an NBA champion, and the greatest shooter in the history of the league. He said Lonzo should be selected first overall in this year’s NBA draft because “he makes everyone around him better.” Then he said Lonzo’s team, the UCLA Bruins would win the NCAA (college sports) tournament (they’ve been eliminated). Last but not least, he said he wants a 1$ billion shoe contract from either Nike, Adidas or Under Armour for all his three sons. Do you see a pattern here?

He’s so brash that his appearance on ESPN’s sports talk show First Take was must-watch TV. And it did NOT disappoint. One-third of First Take is Stephen A. Smith, an African-American sports TV personality, radio host and journalist. He may be the loudest sports journalist you will ever meet, and he’s known for his deafening delivery when he’s trying to make a point. And when Mr. Ball finally showed up on First Take, their first encounter was violent.

He’s said a whole lot more, but you can go online and look for yourself. I promise you will be entertained. The point is that people don’t know how to take Lavar Ball. Some people think that he’s a marketing genius, who knows how to promote his sons and his brand, the big baller brand (BBB). He’s been on pretty much every major sports network in the US, and the hype around the Ball brothers is at an all time high. Clearly, he’s doing something right, and it’s working. When asked if he’s aware of all the pressure he’s putting on his son with his grandiose statements, he answered: “there’s no pressure in sports, it’s entertainment. Life threatening situations, that’s pressure…my foot on your throat and I’m about to kill you, that’s pressure…” Point taken.

His detractors though, and there are many, see someone who is exploiting his sons and is super controlling. He’s been accused of wanting to live his failed hoop dreams through his children, by constantly overshadowing them and making everything about him, and not letting them shine when they’re having a moment of glory.

I personally don’t find fault with Mr. Lavar Ball. Is he intense? Yes. Did some of his comments sound ridiculous and made me laugh out loud? Sure. But this is someone who has moulded his sons, from the day they were born, to be what they are today. He knows how much work they’ve put in, as he’s said so himself. His sons also clearly love to play the game of basketball, because in Lavar Ball’s words: “If I have to push you, this ain’t for you.” The Ball brothers have been training like pro basketball players for years now, and he’s around to promote and protect them to maximum capacity. Because of his work, the NBA is pretty much waiting with open arms for all of them, and a lot of people would kill to be in a situation like that. You don’t see something like the Ball family very often.

I think the people criticising Mr. Ball aren’t mad at him, but at themselves. They look at him and his family doing things, and they resent him because they themselves couldn’t accomplish whatever they set out to do. Lavar Ball has never been disrespectful since he’s become known. He’s just loud, intense, confident, fanatical. If someone can’t handle that, unfortunately for them it’s not Mr. Ball’s job to tone himself down for their viewing pleasure.

The only worry here is for his sons. With Mr. Ball’s constant boasting about what they can do, people are going to love to see them fail. Human beings are morbid and black hearted, and they will want to see Lonzo, who will be in the NBA by late October 2017, suffer just so they can rub it in Lavar Ball’s face and feel good about themselves. People might even want to hurt his son, just to get at Mr. Ball. Be careful.

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