The war of words between LaVar Ball and President Donald Trump looks set to continue for a while. Their feud began when Ball chose not to thank Trump for whatever involvement he had in freeing Ball’s son, LiAngelo Ball, and two other UCLA players who were facing charges of shoplifting in China.
That drew the ire of Trump, who responded on Twitter by suggesting he should’ve left the players in jail until his next trip to China. That prompted LaVar to respond in an interview on CNN, to which he explained why he did not feel compelled to explicitly thank Trump.
It should be noted that Trump’s proposition he leave LiAngelo in jail is inaccurate. The UCLA trio remained in a luxurious hotel while the situation awaited a resolution. But, that hasn’t stopped the President from continuing to press the matter.
Trump has again responded to Ball’s latest interview, referring to the brash father as a watered down version of Don King, among other things:
It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence – IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017
…LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017
Both Trump and LaVar are stubborn and used to getting the last word, so it shouldn’t be expected that the back-and-forth comes to an end any time soon. Nonetheless, it’s a battle no one expected heading into the Lakers’ season.
Frustrating and tiresome as the feud may be, it’s been worth plenty of value to Big Baller Brand in terms of ads.
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