LaVar Ball Says His Latest Outrageous Comment was “Misunderstood”

Well, it didn’t seem to take long for LaVar Ball to start backpedaling after making his comment yesterday when he said “you can’t win no championship with three white guys....”

How far is he backpedaling? Far enough that we need a little Chris Berman.

ESPN is reporting that LaVar is now saying that his comment was “misunderstood”.

Sure, it was.

To be clear, LaVar said this to Clay Fowler of the Orange County Register and the Daily News:

Realistically you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow. I told Lonzo - ‘One of these games you might need to go for 30 or 40 points.' It turned out the that was the one game. Then once they get to the Elite 8, they’re right there.

I’m not sure where the misunderstanding is exactly, but the ESPN article starts off saying:

LaVar Ball, the father of former UCLA star Lonzo Ball, said comments he made about his son's white teammates were misunderstood.

"I love those guys," LaVar Ball said Friday.

Really, LaVar?

I’m calling out your bullshit.

This isn’t the first time you’ve thrown Lonzo’s teammates under the bus.

Perhaps, you think that we’ve forgotten all the other outrageous crap you’ve been saying since you predicted UCLA would win this year’s championship back in November.

I’m here to tell you that Bruins Nation has a loooooong memory. And, if you doubt it, ask Steve Alford.

We still won’t let him forget his actions with respect to Pierre Pierce when he was the coach at Iowa in 2002. That’s 15 years ago.

So, for you to think that Bruin fans have forgotten that, in January, you were talking about Lonzo “trading in” and “getting away from” his Bruin teammates, you are mistaken.

For the most part, we were willing to look past those comments. Your comments yesterday blaming the loss to Kentucky were the second time you have thrown TJ Leaf, Bryce Alford and the rest of the Bruin team under the bus.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.

Your comments were disgusting.

If a white person said that the reason any team didn’t win a championship was because of the black guys on the team, they’d be taken to task for it and possibly fired.

Your attempt to “clarify” your remarks fall short of the mark. Today, you told ESPN 710 in LA:

I am not saying I don't like the white guys and we lost because of them. No -- that's how they twisted it up....I love Bryce because he's Alford's son and he's always been nice to me. TJ Leaf -- Zo's friend, always nice and respectful. Thomas Welsh -- one of their most intelligent players, very nice, respectful.

Your newest statement is missing the same two words that Steve Alford was missing from his discussion of the Iowa incident until after the greater UCLA community was upset that ten years had passed without an apology. It’s missing “I’m sorry.”

But, that’s ok. Why?

Well, because even if you had used those words, they would probably be as hollow as Alford’s forced apology that came in writing after Bruin alums, faculty and fans made their voices be heard.

But, I’m not going to pretend to speak for everyone. I’m just going to speak for myself when I say that, even if you had said you were sorry, I probably wouldn’t believe you meant it, especially after your January remarks.

And, lest you say I’m twisting your words, I will add that you did say you blame your son for the loss. Specifically, ESPN quotes you as saying:

I blame one person every time they lose and it's the same person all the time. It's my son. He's at the head of the front and I blame him regardless if he had 30 points and 20 assists. It doesn't matter. It's already been said. Like he said, he didn't make enough plays for his team to win.

That’s nice.

But, it doesn’t change what you said.

And, I’m not the only one calling you out for your comments yesterday. Actor and basketball fanatic Michael Rapaport called you out much better than anyone else has to date, including Charles Barkley.

You know what they say, LaVar: When you find yourself in a ditch, you should stop digging.

Well, sir, you are now officially in a ditch and you need to stop shoveling.


Go Bruins!