In the months since Lonzo Ball fired Big Baller Brand co-founder and LaVar’s friend Alan Foster, the Lakers guard has distanced himself from the embattled company.
As news broke about Foster’s alleged $1.5 million embezzlement scam, Lonzo responded by covering up his Big Baller Brand tattoo, having his manager urge people to throw away BBB gear and deleted all BBB content from his social media.
In an appearance with LeBron James on HBO’s The Shop, Lonzo went into more detail about what exactly went down with Big Baller Brand’s apparent collapse. He explained that his mother, Tina, used to take care of their finances before her stroke. So, he was especially “hurt” that Foster allegedly saw Tina’s health problems as an opportunity to take advantage of his family. (Warning: NSFW language.)
Lonzo said:
“Yeah, I mean, I’ve known him since I was 12. He was like my second dad. He was way more than that, though … Like, I bought my mom and dad a house — he had a room in there. The media sees — like, the way I feel about it is different. Why I covered the BBB up on my arm. Because when I saw that, I saw him. And that (expletive) just made me so — like I was tight. Because when we looked at the transactions, that (expletive) didn’t start happening until my mom got sick. Because she took care of all the money (expletive). So, that’s what really hurt me. Like, that (expletive) hurt me.
“I don’t even know what I would do if I see him right now. I ain’t seen him. Because when that happened, everything just went off.”
Lonzo was then asked about telling his father for the first time about Foster — a scene that was staged for the Ball in the Family reality show. Lonzo described LaVar’s actual reaction as the first time his dad stopped talking.
He said:
“It wasn’t hard. People who see my dad in the media, that’s how they see him. But for me, I could tell him anything. But that’s the first time I would say that I called him and he literally shut up. I would say that … Like, he ain’t talking. He always talks. That’s the first time I was like, ‘No, you need to listen.’ So THAT was hard.”
In that same episode, LeBron and Lonzo both discussed finding out about Magic Johnson’s resignation.
