LaVar Ball, the outspoken father of top NBA prospect Lonzo Ball, came under fire Wednesday after comments he made to a female Fox Sports reporter during a broadcast of “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.”
Ball was talking to Cowherd about the sales of his Big Baller Brand shoes, and reporter Kristine Leahy inquired about how many shoes were sold.
“Stay in your lane,” Ball said to Leahy while looking at Cowherd.
The comment ignited a tense argument between Ball and Leahy that lasted a couple of minutes.
“My problem is you are a hater,” Ball said.
Leahy said she thought Ball’s clothing company should consider marketing some of its products toward women. Ball dismissed the idea and said his brand was not a “women’s company.”
Ball took a shot at Fox Sports columnist Jason Whitlock and Leahy said, “so you disrespect women and people for their weight?”
“I never disrespect women,” Ball said. “But I’ll tell you what, if you act like that, guess what? Something’s coming to you, and it’s OK.”
Leahy discussed the outburst on Fox Sports’ “Speak for Yourself.” She said Ball might have been upset with her previous comments about his company taking aim at Nike, Adidas and Under Armor.
Ball had been talking to Cowherd about the company. He said the price for his shoes starts at $495– which is well above brands such as Nike.
“So he was upset at me for what I said there, and that’s completely fine. But you can’t come at me and disrespect me and not look me in the eye and threaten me. That’s just not OK,” she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
