2020-04-27
YouTube.com

Retired American football player LaVar Ball made the news again and it wasn't for his family’s Big Baller brand, an overpriced sneaker with a listing price of $495. But it was LaVar's comments after a heated exchange with sports reporter Kristine Leahy while on "The Herd" with Colin Cowherd that lit up social media. Leahy told Ball that the company would sell more apparel if they marketed to women. "Stay in your lane," he quipped. When she pressed him for an answer, he proceeded to become combative. "In order to have a successful company, I think you are going to have to have women that like your brand,” Leahy pressed. “Uh, yeah, if you have a women’s company. But we talking about Big Baller Brand,” LaVar argued back, who is seeking investments from other companies. Having LaVar as the spokesperson for the family's company is a big mistake and here are 6 reasons why.

Companies will avoid doing business with you.

Under Armour and Nike are reportedly not interested in doing business with the Ball family since LaVar can't control his comments. “If you look at Nike, Adidas and Under Armour, they all play to women; men and women, equally. I would wear all their stuff," Leahy said after the show aired. “I would never wear a shirt that says Big Baller Brand. Ever,” she continued, before slamming the cost of the products. When a person needs to be consistently in headlines by making disparaging comments, it shows the person's character.

Going viral isn't always beneficial.

When people started complaining about the price of his sneakers, his comments went viral again. "If you can’t afford the ZO2s,” the father wrote on Twitter in a message retweeted and liked more than 51,000 times, “You’re not a Big Baller!” According to reports, the sale of merchandise is not living up to the social media hype. "We made $157,685 in one day! Has anyone ever made that much money in one day? Probably not," he added. "If you can't make $157,000 in a day, you're probably not a Big Baller."

Showing some class could help your brand.

Since most of America doesn't make that in a day, the snide remarks are not helping. The LA Times reported that in a 24-hour period, 33 pairs of the shoes and flip-flops were ordered. "The company’s first week of footwear sales grossed more than $290,000, according to the inventory data, though manufacturing costs are expected to consume a significant portion of that total." Social media impressions and negative press don't always equate to inventory being sold. But maybe a little class could help sales.

A male chauvinist who goes on record will fail.

If Baller was smarter, he should know that the blow-back that he was going to receive would be fierce. A male chauvinist is defined as a male prejudice against women; "the belief that men are superior in terms of ability and intelligence." At least hide how you feel about women during your interviews. Do this not because people are watching, but do it out of self-respect no matter where you are. If this doesn't stop you, maybe a loss of money would! Always conduct yourself in a manner where you do not judge others and are not submitting yourself to be evaluated as less than. Conduct yourself with an acceptable amount of professionalism and avoid using language that will aggravate the situation. Lest we forget, this is LaVar, we are talking about.

He is no role model for his son.

The ridiculous father of UCLA’s Lonzo Ball is an embarrassment. He's one of those parents that you want to hide when they show up to an event. You have to feel sorry for his son, who we hope is nothing like his dad. When UCLA lost the title, dad said it was the fault of the "Slow white guys" and threw the team under the bus. “Realistically you can’t win no championship with three white guys because the foot speed is too slow. I told Lonzo, ‘One of these games you might need to go for 30 or 40 points.’ It turned out the that was the one game. Then once they get to the Elite 8, they’re right there.” If Lonzo is drafted by the NBA, be prepared to have to deal with this nonsense. In case that you were wondering, there was no apology that followed these comments. The faster that you apologize, the better as it might help your company's image. If not, do it for your family.

He sets all men back.

Congress designated Aug. 26 as Women’s Equality Day in 1971. This signifies a momentous time in history, recognizing the generations of women who have brazenly fought for gender equality. Not, all men are like LaVar and thank God for this. There is a quote from actress Emma Watson that frames this entire scenario. “I want men to take up this mantle. So their daughters, sisters and mothers can be free from prejudice but also so that their sons have permission to be vulnerable and human too—reclaim those parts of themselves they abandoned and in doing so be a more true and complete version of themselves.” We set a precedence for our children.

During the process of researching LaVar, we couldn't find justifications or any kind of remorse for his comments. His motivation could be to grab headlines or it's just the way he does business. Either way, his lofty pursuit of fame will damage the family business. Oh, if you want a pair of sneakers signed by Ball himself, you need to cough up $995 to be part of the elite club.

more from beliefnet and our partners
Close Ad