Analyzing the LaVar Ball Saga - June 28th, 2017
Analyzing the LaVar Ball Saga
June 28th, 2017
So Josh why are you writing about him if he is virtually unknown for his athletic abilities in the sports world? Good question! It is not his talent alone that got him in the public eye, it is his three sons Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo. His three sons have become internet sensations with their basketball talents. The oldest of the three, Lonzo, has just been drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers from UCLA and LiAngelo and LaMelo have already secured their commitments to follow Lonzo's lead. LaVar's risk to fame started in early 2017 when he stated that his son was better than reigning 2 time NBA MVP Stephen Curry. After stirring up media attention we got saturated with LaVar Ball's antics.
LaVar Ball antics included: stating that his oldest son was better than Russell Westbrook and LeBron James, stating that he could beat Michael Jordan in a one on one which caused a rift between him and Charles Barkley, publicly criticized his son's Caucasian-American teammates essentially stating that they were not athletically capable of winning a championship due to "foot speed," predicting his son would get drafted by the Lakers and he also launched his Big Baller Brand making his son Lonzo the face with his own signature shoe costing $495 (oh and he believes that if you can not afford the shoes "you are not a Big Baller" and he did this all while turning down Nike, Adidas and Under Amour deals in the process.)
Now of course some of these actions are over the top and you do not need to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. First off LaVar is like that troublesome classmate you had in school, craving attention and the more you give to him, the more he will do. This is what makes this such an interesting phenomenon. However, I do enjoy every second of what he is doing. The media needs something to write about and he definitely provides that but also while doing this its free publicity for his Big Baller Brand and his three son's basketball abilities so it is sort of a win-win situation here.
Now what I do not like is professional editors and television show hosts questioning his parenting in the national audience. He has been often criticized for being too involved and sabotaging his son's careers. I look at it like this, he is there. Often the narrative for African-American fathers are that they are not there for their kids, they are in and out of jail, drug dealers, uneducated, menaces to society and the list can go on for days.
I love the fact that not only is he there in their lives but he wholeheartedly supports them. So what if you do not like some of his antics, so what if you are tired of him, so what if you do not like his son's abilities...SO WHAT. He got his three BLACK sons into U-C-L-A on a full ride athletic scholarship. He also instils work ethic in his young kings and drives them to get what they want. That right there is enough. That is all you can ask for. He also owns an upcoming brand. OWNS! Black ownership in entertainment is almost unheard of. The entertainment industry is filled with black and brown kings and queens but we own virtually nothing! We always strive to chase a check and never cut them. We make it and then sign our rights and souls to CEOs who treat you like an employee number and will exploit your talents for their profit and gain. So yes I love the fact that he created his own brand to compete with the Nikes in this world. What if it works? What if in 10 years we are all trying to cop the ZO10s and they are in your nearest Footlocker? Guess what LaVar Ball is the mastermind behind it and it would amaze us all. I just hope that Lonzo comes into Los Angeles (my favorite team by the way) and puts together a solid career and that Big Baller Brand takes off and takes the industry by surprise.
Comments
Post a Comment