Charles Barkley on LaVar Ball: 'Village missing an idiot'
Charles Barkley has had his fill of LaVar Ball.
TMZ Sports asked the NBA legend about the New Orleans Pelicans’ No. 1 draft pick Zion Williamson’s potential but the conversation turned to Barkley’s impression of LaVar Ball.
“I don’t talk about LaVar Ball. Wherever LaVar Ball is, there’s a village missing an idiot,” Barkley told TMZ.
Ball’s son Lonzo was traded to the Pelicans from the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this offseason as part of the Anthony Davis deal.
“It’s really unfair to his son. His son’s a nice player and a good kid,” Barkley said. “Keep him off T.V. He’s an idiot.”
Barkley was asked whether he thought Ball would cause commotion in New Orleans with his antics similar to his presence around his son in L.A., and Barkley took the verbal assault against the father a step further.
“It don’t matter,” Barkley said. “(LaVar is) an idiot in all 50 states. Not New Orleans, not Louisiana, not L.A., he’s an idiot in all 50 states.”
The elder Ball was recently banned from ESPN and all of its platforms after comments he made to “First Take” host Molly Qerim were deemed inappropriate. Ball, for his part, denied any sexual intent toward Qerim when he said she could “switch gears with [him] anytime,” while he was on the show to discuss Lonzo’s trade to the Pelicans.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.