A couple of years ago, I wrote about LaVar Ball and how his Big Baller Brand could be a positive even if it failed.
If recent rumblings are accurate, we’re about to get a “lessons learned” as speculation of Big Baller Brand’s demise grows. The frenzy started when LA Sports Radio tweeted the following:
Big Baller Brand went from selling $50 t shirts to selling them for $5 at local volleyball tournaments ? pic.twitter.com/PBdyH1BSFW
— LA Sports Radio (@LASportsRadio) July 14, 2019
More fuel was added to the fire when the Big Baller Brand website was taken down because it was “under construction”.
How did we get here? Well, it starts with Ball’s business partner, Allen Foster, was accused of pilfering $1.5 million from Lonzo Ball. There has been some back and forth to whether Lonzo Ball has severed ties with Big Baller Brand. Ball has covered/removed his Big Ball Brand tattoos but recently, Brandblack founder, David Raysse said Big Baller Brand still has all three Ball brothers.
Lonzo being traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans doesn’t help either. One can only imagine that the Pelican marketing team is 100% Zion Williamson. What uptick would a shoe company get from Lonzo in that situation?
LaVar also shares in some of the blame. Ball was “banned” from all ESPN shows after a comment he made on ESPN’s First Take. He was given a platform that an apparel start-up with one client rarely, if ever, gets. Somehow he managed to blow any and all goodwill with almost every entity the Ball family had.
What’s next for Big Baller Brand is unknown but it doesn’t look good. The company has gone from Baller to Bust.
Follow Mook on Twitter: @mtcwithmook and IG: MTCWithMook
