LaVar Ball often can be found saying ridiculous things to rile people up, but on Tuesday, the father of NBA draft prospect Lonzo Ball crossed a line.
Ball appeared on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” to discuss Big Baller Brand and the ZO2 sneakers, among other things, and Cowherd’s co-host, Kristine Leahy, asked Ball how many pairs of his son’s signature shoes he has sold so far. But instead of answering Leahy, Ball put his hand up and told her to “stay in her lane” before telling Cowherd, “I don’t even worry about her over there.”
Ball didn’t leave it at that, either, as he continued to berate Leahy over the course of the segment, all while refusing to even look at her.
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Ball tried writing off Leahy as a “hater” who said she didn’t want to wear Big Baller Brand, but the co-host went on to explain she was saying if he wanted a deal with Nike, Adidas or Under Armour, he’d need to include women to be more successful. Ball didn’t like that suggestion, either.
“Uh, yeah, if you have a women’s company,” Ball said. “But we talking about Big Baller Brand.”
While Ball obviously has every right to run a men’s company, Big Baller Brand actually does sell women’s clothing, so it’s not a very smart tactic to leave a portion of your merchandise out of your marketing plan. Not to mention, there’s a difference between not wanting to sell women’s clothing and disrespecting a female reporter while saying you don’t need women’s money.
Plus, it’s not the best way to get in the good graces of the Los Angeles Lakers, whom Lonzo Ball hopes will select him with the No. 2 pick in the draft, as Jeanie Buss is the controlling owner and president of the team.
