NBA

Scandal is tanking Big Baller Brand, and LaVar Ball’s in trouble

Big Baller Brand is going down, which presents the question: Is LaVar Ball crashing down with it?

Lakers guard Lonzo Ball is severing ties with a co-founder of the sneaker and apparel company, Alan Foster, over a missing $1.5 million and concerns about the business manager’s criminal past, ESPN reported. It led to the Ball family having talks over the weekend about folding Big Baller Brand and everything associated with Foster, according to the network.

“[Foster has] used his access to my business and personal finances to enrich himself,” Lonzo Ball told ESPN about the family’s longtime friend who owns 16.3 percent of Big Baller Brand.

Lonzo Ball already signaled he may be done with Big Baller Brand, posting a photo of himself in his Nike jersey and writing he’s on to “bigger and better” things.

Foster was the one who convinced LaVar Ball to create the company in 2014, according to the report. He served time for mail fraud and money laundering in 2002, which Lonzo Ball was informed of by a reporter two weeks ago. He began checking into Foster’s past, along with other old concerns about missing money raised by his financial adviser, Humble Lukanga.

Lonzo Ball, who owns 51 percent of the company, had deferred to his father to resolve the controversy over the money’s whereabouts in the fall, but LaVar did not review the situation until recently.

“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,” LaVar told ESPN in a statement. “At the end of the day, family comes first, and I support Zo wholeheartedly. Together, we will make this right.”

On Monday, Lonzo Ball’s manager, Darren Moore, posted an Instagram video of himself throwing Big Baller Brand shoes down a garbage chute with the hashtag, “#dumpurmerch.”

“I’m proud of Lonzo for waking up and taking back his power,” Moore told ESPN. “Together, we will fight for justice.”

LaVar had told ESPN the Magazine in 2017 that Foster was “one of the smartest suckers ever,” but it may have finally caught up to him.

Meanwhile, LaVar’s future remains cloudy. He rose to fame in 2016 for hyping up his sons and criticizing their coaches and teams, later profiting off it by establishing Big Baller Brand, of which he is the CEO. But the company has received criticism from the Better Business Bureau, and concerns have even been raised about Lonzo Ball wearing its sneakers. He has had three separate ankle injuries, and the Lakers have reportedly inquired about whether his shoes were the problem.

LaVar likely will have something more to say about it all, but for now, his business may be tanking.

Foster couldn’t be reached for comment.