LaVar Ball is at it again.
As we’ve learned in recent days, the world’s most attention-seeking basketball father is also the world’s most attention-seeking basketball coach, and on Friday he pulled a stunt that no one should be able to get away with.
After picking up a technical foul minutes into his son LaMelo’s Adidas Uprising AAU game, Ball accosted the referee who T’d him up, then demanded she be replaced as he pulled his players off the court (for the second time in a week).
LaVar Ball goes CRAZY and gets another tech 😱 pic.twitter.com/MOtUS5MFD1
— Overtime (@overtime) July 28, 2017
LaVar Ball pulls team from #adidasUprising #Vegas demands female ref leave or him guess who won that Battle #CryBabyBall pic.twitter.com/iCzIpfnvYp
— Lovell Martin (@Mints2U) July 28, 2017
LaVar Ball just picked up a technical. Points to the ref and looks at the crowd, "We need to get someone else in here."
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 28, 2017
LaVar Ball asks for female official to be replaced after she gave him a technical. https://t.co/wPuXjlmPY5
— Myron Medcalf (@MedcalfByESPN) July 28, 2017
Lavar is basically telling his team not to play until another ref comes in. The ref he wants out happens to be female.
— stunna (@stunnaIo) July 28, 2017
Adidas reps quickly rushed to talk LaVar down, but apparently he insisted the ref be replaced, and apparently the reps complied, pulling the official and replacing her with another ref.
Adidas just replaced the woman ref with a man because Lavar said they wouldn't play unless they did. Wow.
— stunna (@stunnaIo) July 28, 2017
The referee who gave LaVar Ball a technical foul is being replaced mid-game.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 28, 2017
The female referee that was replaced after LaVar Ball's complaining wouldn't comment on what happened.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 28, 2017
Adidas said it was their decision to replace the referee. Said there was a history between ref and LaVar — she officiated Wednesday's game.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 28, 2017
LaVar Ball to ESPN after the game on the referee: "She's got a vendetta. She needs to stay in her lane because she ain't ready for this."
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) July 28, 2017
Some of LaVar’s antics are fun, and some of them (such as taking on the major shoe companies) are even somewhat admirable. But it’s undeniable that the guy crosses the line sometimes. Typically, coaches who object to the refs stew and whine to their assistants and complain a little bit on the court and complain more loudly afterward in the locker room. What they don’t do is throw a fit, threaten to boycott and demand the official be replaced mid-game.
And although we don’t know for sure that the referee’s gender played a role in Ball’s attitude toward her, his infamous, “Stay in your lane,” comment to a female radio host feels relevant here.
Later in Friday’s game, Ball reportedly picked up another technical foul, pulled his team off the court again, then refused to leave after being ejected. That resulted in the referees simply ending the game.
Lavar got another technical foul and pulled his team off the court.
— stunna (@stunnaIo) July 28, 2017
Lavar got ejected and refused to leave the game, so the refs just ended it. Okay, back to Zion and Devon Dotson now.
— stunna (@stunnaIo) July 28, 2017
LaVar Ball and the Big Ballers have FORFEITED again 👀 pic.twitter.com/Cmu654D1qR
— Overtime (@overtime) July 28, 2017
Via Overtime, here are LaVar’s postgame comments, including the assertion that the ref needs to “stay in here lane:”
LaVar’s defenders argue that he simply wants what’s best for his kids, and often tha truly seems to be the case. But it’s tough to figure that by throwing a tantrum that resulted in Friday’s game, at a major showcase in front of college coaches, ending prematurely was in any way good for LaMelo.
Everyone likes to treat LaVar like either a hero or a villain, but in reality he’s pretty clearly a little of both. For his fierce independence and his commitment to maximizing his sons’ value to college, NBA teams and especially shoe companies, LaVar deserves some praise. For the petty sideline antics he showcased Friday… not so much.