PJ Guippone

Lavar Ball has been known to make insane claims and make questionable decisions. He added to this list of things on Monday when he decided to take his youngest son LaMelo out of public high school to be home schooled and train for college hoops. This story caught some media attention, much like everything else that Lavar does. The difference this time is the media slipped up while criticizing him.

In a USA Today article reacting to the decision, writer Nancy Armour talks about the social issues that will stem from Lavar’s decision.

All previous criticism of Lavar has been much-deserved. The things he has said have been tongue-in-cheek and spoken to create media buzz. The buzz became just that, a steady humming for about the last year with Lavar’s obnoxious rantings. With this article, though, a new depth was added to his character.

With this article, Nancy Armour gave Lavar Ball the chance to be a victim.

If you have not read the article yet, the gist of it is that Ball is essentially Marc Marinovich. Marinovich is infamous for grooming his son Todd into a NFL quarterback from infancy. The story of Marinovich is highlighted by bust professional status and drug addiction. To this point, there is no indication of any type of issues in the Ball family. Their familial ties have always been considered to be extremely steady. The private life of the family rallying around an ailing mother showed a softer side of the seemingly ostentatious brute.

All of the Ball brothers are considered to be upstanding citizens on the straight and narrow. No decision Ball has made thus far has proven to be detrimental in any way. As a matter of fact, it appears that it would be much easier to say he makes decisions with his sons in mind then the opposite.

An important thing to note is that LaMelo is 16 years old. He understands the social aspects of life. One of Armour’s arguments is that life isn’t all just “buddies,” though, and that school helps kids to learn how to face adversity. An easy counterargument to this is the fact that LaMelo is a competitor. Every time he steps on a basketball court, there is someone on the other side that is probably a stranger and that definitely wants to humiliate you.

The biggest mistake Armour made was thinking this article was appropriate in any capacity. The main tone of this article is the same as a woman at a playground yelling at another parent for allowing their child to use the monkey bars. “Do you know how easy it is to fall from the monkey bars? Do you know how many limbs have been broken from these falls?”

The tone of the mainstream media today is one defending the integrity of Lavar and the entire Ball family. So now, that must be considered while talking about the depth of Lavar’s character, all thanks to Nancy Armour.