Who deserves blame for LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball’s negative experience playing basketball in Lithuania?
The answer depends on whom you ask.
BC Prenai coach Virginijus Seskus blasted LaVar Ball and his aforementioned sons last month in a press release, claiming their “scandalous arrival and subsequent behavior has left the club on the brink of bankruptcy.” Stadium’s Jeff Goodman publicized Seskus’ inflammatory comments in the United States on Friday in a Twitter post, which you can see below.
Ball Brothers former coach in Lithuania finally fires back:
“The most disappointing fact was that they had no inner drive to become better.” – Virginijus Seskus pic.twitter.com/TvdyyYcdme
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) August 23, 2018
“The first and most crucial mistake we made was allowing them, especially LaVar, (to) think they are in charge …, Seskus said. “His boys were nowhere near the level of the LKL, let alone NBA … And when they saw it was going nowhere, they started destroying the club, not paying out prize money to the Big Baller Brand tournament winners, etc.”
LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball joined Prienai in December on reported one-year contracts but left the Lithuanian club in May with two games remaining in the season amid public sniping between LaVar Ball and Seskus.
Big Baller Brand, the family-owned conglomerate, told its side of the story via Twitter and accused Seskus of lying in a lengthy statement uniquesportsplus.com published hours after Goodman shared BC Prenai’s press release.
https://twitter.com/theballera/status/1032979658281811969
“Why … stay in a location where you aren’t being paid what your worth, are contributing more to their platform than vise versa, and they also haven’t lived up to their end of the agreement when you’ve went above and beyond to help promote the team as a sponsor,” the statement reads.
“… The coach is most likely fighting to keep his job as is and with the need for new sponsors and help now that Lavar has taken his growing empire with him the coach is scratching for ways to stay relevant.”
The Ball family’s Lithuania adventure ended three-plus months ago, but the bad blood between them and Seskus continues to boil to this day.