All or nothing, Ball till’ you fall.
By: Tucker C. Toole
When it comes to youth sports and the parents of the athletes, you never know what you’re going to get. Whether its basketball or football, parents get in the way or cloud the success of their children. Even when the spotlight is on that child the majority of the time the parent will try to take a piece of their shine.
One parent whose name is always in the headlines is Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball’s father, Lavar. During the past two or three years, Lavar Ball has slowly but steadily grown his brand into what it is today. It all started when he made sure that all three of his nationally ranked sons were committed to play basketball at UCLA. The Ball trio played together during Lonzo’s senior year at Chino Hills High School.
Lavar Ball gets a lot of media attention as he hypes his sons whenever he makes a guest appearance on a sports network program. Lavar also promotes the family brand BBB or Big Baller Brand, which includes merchandise, sneakers, and much more.
The Ball family story hasn’t been picture perfect either. Lavar has taken a lot of criticism and has had to make some “game time” decisions as the one spearheading the Ball brand.
The youngest Ball brother, LaMelo, who is 16, had a shoe released similar to his older brother Lonzo and immediately Lavar started to receive backlash. An NCAA spokesperson said if LaMelo was receiving any compensation for the sneaker he would not be eligible to play at UCLA. A few months after the NCAA warned Lavar about the sneaker situation, he had to fly to China and handle some international business.
LiAngelo Ball, who is the middle brother of the Ball brothers, was caught shoplifting in China while traveling with UCLA during the pre-season. LiAngelo was arrested and sentenced to about a month of house arrest in the team hotel as opposed to a few years in a Chinese prison. After LiAngelo and Lavar returned to the United States, Lavar was called a fool on Twitter by President Donald Trump because he never thanked Mr. Trump after he allegedly helped get LiAngelo’s sentence reduced to house arrest.
It’s hard to imagine having to deal with backlash for putting your family in a situation where they can be comfortable and live well. Many of Lavar Ball’s comments and actions are controversial, but he does it because he thinks it’s best for his sons. He changed the game when two of his sons, LiAngelo and LaMelo, signed contracts to play professional ball in Lithuania. This made LaMelo the youngest American professional basketball player ever.
Pretty soon Lavar Ball won’t be the only parent making headlines, talking about their children on TV, or trying to make a family brand. With the facebook series Ball in the Family, and other youth sports reality shows like Friday Night Tykes and recently added show Coach Snoop, you can see how parents could overshadow their child when their intentions are for the better. TV and youth sports has changed the dynamic of how kids are being taught to play, and what they’re being taught to do because their parents want them in front of a camera. Some parents say it’s in their child’s best interest when others think life in the spotlight is not the way to go.
