Amid the mess of Friday’s findings by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne regarding Lonzo Ball and Big Baller Brand co-founder Alan Foster was LaVar Ball’s role in the matter. LaVar was the one who initially befriended Foster and handed him control of his family’s business ventures, including a notable stake in Big Baller Brand itself.
It was also LaVar who did not review documents sent by Lonzo’s financial Humble Lukanga about the missing money back in October. Even then, Lonzo began asking questions about Foster.
Sources close to the Ball family told ESPN that Lonzo expressed his concerns about Foster to his father several times over the past few months but deferred to LaVar to manage the situation.
Ball only reviewed those documents in recent weeks, using the excuse that he was traveling overseas in the fall with LaMelo and LiAngelo. While partially true, LaVar has been stateside since mid-November in Ohio with LaMelo, giving him multiple months to examine those emails.
The situation was bad enough that by November, Lukanga no longer represented Lonzo and left a poignant message back in October.
“My purpose in this lifetime is to protect, serve and educate families; especially black families,” Lukanga wrote in his October email. “It’s breaking my heart to see the Ball family being taken advantage of; I love the family, things aren’t right with the companies … .”
In the end, Lukanga was rehired by Lonzo in recent days as Lonzo looks to take control of his own affairs, detaching himself from Foster and his father.
LaVar meanwhile, comes out of the situation looking terrible. Not only did LaVar hand Foster keys to a multi-million dollar company after not vetting his past, his negligence in recent months to the matter as Lukanga tried to notify the family only exasperated the problem.
In the piece, LaVar released a brief statement on the matter.
“I’ve always believed in the best in people. Regretfully, I put my complete trust in Alan Foster to manage my son’s business affairs. At the end of the day, family comes first, and I support Zo wholeheartedly. Together, we will make this right.”
The good news for Lonzo is that he now appears to have taken control of his own affairs and empowered people he personally trusts moving forward. LaVar, meanwhile, comes out of the situation in the worst shape for the Ball family as the one who set his family up, costing them millions of dollars. It’s a messy situation that could, unfortunately, lead to fractured relationships moving forward.
