LaVar Ball has been banned from appearing on ESPN in light of some questionable comments he made last week on a network program, and Charles Barkley doesn’t feel sorry for the outspoken and outrageous father one bit.
In fact, Barkley went so far as to refer to the elder Ball as an “idiot” while chatting recently with a TMZ Sports camera crew.
“Wherever LaVar Ball is, there’s a village missing an idiot,” Barkley said. “We should just keep LaVar off television. That would be the best way to be.”
Concerning Ball’s eldest son, Lonzo, who was just traded by the Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans in the Anthony Davis blockbuster deal, Barkley feels bad for the young guard.
“It’s really unfair to his son,” Barkley said. “His son is a good player and a nice kid.”
Ball without question has long been a lightning rod for controversy, and the case can be made he has only himself to blame for frequently finding himself in an unflattering spotlight for the wrong reasons.
The same can be said about the latest scandal, which involved Ball making a perceptively sexist comment to ESPN’s Molly Qerim during an appearance on “First Take.” ESPN called Ball’s antics “completely inappropriate,” while Ball denied that his comments were “sexual in nature.”
Ball has since continued to profess his innocence amid the backlash, accusing Qerim of having her “mind in the gutter.”
It merits noting as well that this isn’t the first time Barkley has set his sights on Ball in the midst of a PR disaster, either, and the NBA on TNT analyst continued to trash Ball to the TMZ Sports camera crew.
When asked if Ball can get a fresh start in Louisiana … Charles said, “He’s an idiot in all 50 states.”
