LaVar Ball doesn’t seem too concerned about his apparent ban from ESPN.
The head of the Ball family was reportedly banned from the network after he told Molly Qerim she could “switch gears” with him “anytime.”
LaVar shooting his shot at Molly Qerim during First Take interview? Jalen Rose gonna bust him up lol pic.twitter.com/HeIB9CFIxH
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) June 17, 2019
There will be no LaVar Ball on any ESPN platform heading forward — at least as of now. Asked if Ball will be used as an on-air guest, an on-the-record source for digital, or a background source for ESPN, an ESPN spokesperson said,”We have no plans moving forward.”
— Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch) June 19, 2019
LaVar doesn’t seem too worried about it, and made it clear he didn’t mean to offend anybody. “Switch gears means change topics to me. Her mind in the gutter if she thinks it’s something else,” he said in a video making the rounds on Twitter posted by @SLEEPERSALLDAY. (RELATED: LaMelo Ball Says He’ll Play For The Illawarra Hawks Of The NBL In Australia)
He also added he meant no sexual intent. You can watch his full comments below.
LaVar says the only he’ll hit on Molly is if she ever breaks in his house #lavarball #lonzoball #mollyqerim pic.twitter.com/ogHHb1zFKQ
— SLEEPERSALLDAY (@sleepersallday) June 22, 2019
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I actually kind of understand where LaVar is coming from. Is it easy to assume his comment was inappropriate? Sure. The tone it was delivered with was suspect at best.
However, switching gears is something people say all the time. There’s nothing inherently sexual about it at all.
Again, you can change the meaning of anything depending on the tone, and maybe that’s what happened here. However, maybe he’s also telling the truth.
View this post on Instagram
What I do know for sure is LaVar is ratings gold. Sure, he’s abrasive and has a gigantic mouth on him, but that’s what makes for great television.
I’ll be absolutely shocked if he doesn’t make a return to ESPN eventually. Let’s remember his youngest son LaMelo has a real shot at being the number one pick in 2020.
Let’s not pretend for a second ESPN won’t rush to put him back on TV if that’s the case.
