At the Adidas Summer Championships, LaVar Ball, father of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, has been making waves. Most recently, LaVar has come under fire for his comments directed at a female official during the Big Baller Brand’s Friday game.
After receiving a technical foul from the referee, LaVar reportedly threatened to take his team off the court if she wasn’t replaced. The game ultimately continued and the female referee was replaced by a male counterpart. There could be a reason why, and it has to do with Lonzo himself.
According to Myron Medcalf of ESPN, Adidas has been pressuring officials to give LaVar some leeway with technical fouls due to a potential courtship of Lonzo:
Before a female referee was replaced on Friday, officials with Adidas had pressured referees at their Summer Championships event in Las Vegas to avoid calling technical fouls against LaVar Ball because of his drawing power and their potential courtship of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, a source told ESPN.
During Lonzo Ball’s outstanding Summer League performance, one of the ongoing subplots involved what shoes he was wearing each game. After starting out in his signature Big Baller Brand ZO2 sneakers, Lonzo played in Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour shoes throughout the tournament.
Lonzo said that since he isn’t signed with any company, simply representing the Big Baller Brand, he could wear any shoes he wants. LaVar even added that there was a chance that Lonzo could sign with a major shoe company if the right deal presents itself.
If Adidas feels like they have a chance at signing Lonzo to a shoe deal, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they would prefer to stay on the good side of his father. If LaVar continues to clash with officials in their tournament however, it could cause some issues.