LaVar Ball and United States President Donald Trump have been engaging in the war of words on and off for the last week, beginning when Ball neglected to thank Trump for whatever aid he may have offered in securing the freedom of his son, LiAngelo Ball, and his two UCLA teammates from China when the three were set to face shoplifting charges.
Upon President Trump catching word of Ball’s viewpoint, he responded on Twitter by saying he should have left the UCLA players in jail until another visit to China. Like all great heavyweight fights, this one was going to go another round, with Ball appearing for an interview on CNN.
When pressed by host Chris Cuomo on why he refused to thank Trump, Ball explained he didn’t believe it was necessary. He added the lack of an explicit ‘thank you’ was in no way a sign of disrespect toward the President.
As the interview came to a close, Ball then had a parting message for Trump in the spirit of Thanksgiving, via Sports Illustrated:
LaVar Ball has a message for Donald Trump pic.twitter.com/edK9aTJlR6
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 21, 2017
It somewhat fittingly was the only way the bizarre, seemingly ripped-right-from-a-sitcom interview could have ended. Ball had successfully trolled the sitting U.S. President into a feud with him, and it was easy to predict he was ready to take a victory lap.
Big Baller Brand is suddenly more relevant than it’s ever been after the latest genius marketing ploy, and as a result, Ball probably will have a great Thanksgiving.
Where this goes from here is anyone’s guess. There is literally no option that would be a surprise at this point. What unfortunately has gotten lost in the sparring is the UCLA players are now home safe.
WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCUSSION? CHECK OUT THE NEW LAKERSNATION FORUM CLUB
