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LaVar Ball once again channeled his inner Vince MacMahon by taking over the show, this time getting a female referee replaced mid-game after she assessed him a technical foul.
The outspoken father of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball was at the Adidas Uprising AAU game, coaching his son LaMelo, who put up a game-high 31 points in Wednesday’s game against fellow highly-touted prospect Zion Williamson.
LaVar berated the official and received a consequent technical, immediately threatening to take his team off the court as he did earlier this summer.
“Not sure what’s happening here in Vegas,” wrote ESPN’s Myron Medcalf. “LaVar Ball drew another technical and told his team “let’s go.” Team still on the bench with organizers trying to sort through the chaos.”
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
The female referee was eventually replaced after LaVar gave Adidas the choice of keeping her in the game or keeping his squad in the game. You guys can guess who came out with the upper hand in this exchange.
https://twitter.com/Mints2U/status/890960147056476161
Adidas later said it was their decision to make the change, given that this same referee had a different exchange with LaVar during Wednesday’s game.
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
If AAU ball wasn’t a spectacle before, it surely is now with the inclusion of the Big Ballers squad into this year’s circuit, as now referees are being swapped out mid-game for a “coach” wearing a hat and shorts.
The official did not comment on the decision.
Here’s a video via Overtime with the full interaction, including reactions from fans: