Ever since being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Lonzo Ball has only boosted his popularity among basketball fans with his affiliation to the Big Baller Brand.
The company, launched by his father LaVar in 2016, sells clothing and shoes among other sportswear. Despite initial success from promotional tactics, Big Baller Brand’s credibility took a hit last year when it received a failing grade from the Better Business Bureau.
Another blemish to the company’s reputation has derived over allegations against business manager Alan Foster. As a result, Ball has decided to cut ties with the Big Baller Brand co-founder due to concerns of his criminal past and the missing sum of $1.5 million, via ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Paula Lavigne:
Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball has severed ties with a co-founder of Big Baller Brand over concerns that the longtime family friend has a criminal past and also has not adequately accounted for the whereabouts of roughly $1.5 million from Ball’s personal and business accounts.
Ball told ESPN that he believes that Alan Foster, a friend of Lonzo’s father for almost a decade who owns 16.3 percent of Big Baller Brand, had “used his access to my business and personal finances to enrich himself. As a result, I have decided to sever all ties with Alan, effective immediately.”
“This has been a very difficult decision as I had a great deal of love and respect for Alan,” Lonzo said. “But the time has come for me to take responsibility for my own career both on and off the court.”
Prior to these latest developments, Foster had multiple run-ins with the law, most notably being arrested and charged for his role in a 2002 financial scheme.
Foster has been a close friend of the Ball family for almost two decades, so it remains to be seen if there is room for reconciliation.