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LaVar Ball was once again in the headlines again after being involved in a situation where he played a hand in a female referee being taken out of an AAU basketball.
It didn’t take long for Ball to provide his perspective on why things transpired in that manner on Friday night, according to Jeff Borzello of ESPN.
“You guys are trying to make it like a gender thing. It’s not that,” Ball told reporters after his Big Baller Brand’s AAU team lost at the Adidas Summer Championships on Saturday evening. “All I’m saying was, what’s her name? Exactly. The only reason you know her is she gave me and my son a tech. And that’s what it is when you ref somebody who’s got a high celebrity. Every coach acts like that because the intensity of the game is so high. And I’m just saying, don’t have no vendettas in here.”
Regardless of Ball’s response to the situation, he is going to catch some heat given that his reaction was directed toward a female referee. It didn’t help that she was replaced after he nearly pulled his team off the court with the help of Adidas making it happen.
Ball does make a valid point that his celebrity status may have played a factor, but his continued antics on the sidelines only give more reason for criticism. He has already pulled his team off the court for one game and has remained quite vocal when his teams lose.
At the same, it also shows that Ball isn’t exactly the best choice to have at head coach. The manner in which he has almost stormed off the court twice doesn’t show much stability at that position.
That said, this may not have been because she was a female referee, but it only gives more fuel toward the growing criticism surrounding him.