Never a stranger to the spotlight in the world of sports, LaVar Ball is making headlines yet again. The immensely controversial father of three promising young basketball players has managed to steal the show on numerous occasions in the media. Whether it would be his rash comments or false promises on several sports and news platforms, he manages to stay relevant, ensuring that the Ball family are always under lights, camera, and action.
Following a controversial arrest in China revolving around his youngest son, LiAngelo, LaVar has removed his son from the renowned basketball program at UCLA. Initially, the team suspended LiAngelo for his part in the robbery of several stores during a trip to China. Him and his teammates were held in China, before President Trump involved himself in the process of returning them home. He was placed on house arrest upon his return.
The freshman at UCLA, following in the footsteps of his eldest brother, Lonzo, will now explore a new path towards his journey to being drafted in the NBA. LaVar feels that the suspension was unfair, and to no surprise decided to take matters into his own hands. “We are exploring other options with Gelo” LaVar Ball informed ESPN’s Jeff Goodman. He then said “I’m going to make him way better for the draft than UCLA ever could have” further justifying the arrogant persona he’s confidently been carrying from the start.
“The plan is now to get Gelo ready for the NBA draft” he further proclaimed. Just how they will go about it is a question that is up in the air now. The legal burden that LiAngelo now carries with him could affect his draft ranking, and any career he was promised or intending on fulfilling.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski believes that Ball will in fact struggle to find a serious job playing professional basketball. He suggests that he goes in the direction of finding a scholarship at a lower level of basketball, and stay in school. He’s in for a much longer process now in the endeavor to establish himself as a quality prospect. This could very well be a problem that not even his self-proclaimed hero of a father could save him from.
Though LaVar is always glorifying himself and his sons in the media, his approach isn’t always beneficial to the cause. Even after Trump came to the aid of his son regarding this international incident, he engaged in a war of words with the master himself. LaVar refused to thank the President, questioning his intentions behind it all. Whether it’s a part of his scheme to spark controversy in the media, it certainly has been working in his favor, further publicizing himself, his sons, and his brand.
There’s no telling what’s next in the ongoing story of the Ball family, and their brand. It’s been a very animated time in the basketball world ever since LaVar has embedded himself within it. He’s become the man you love to hate, with his sons being the (questionable) beneficiaries of all the headlines and hype. Whether it helps or damages their chances of a promising future is yet to be determined, but what’s certain is that LiAngelo has laid down the bricks of a rocky road ahead of him, in his pursuit of an NBA career.
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