Getty Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers, who is involved in controversy surrounding Big Baller Brand.
In March, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Paula Lavigne reported that Lakers point guard, Lonzo Ball severed ties with Big Baller Brand co-founder Alan Foster.
The reason? Money!
Foster’s business practices were first brought to light late last year by Lonzo’s financial adviser, Humble Lukanga of LifeLine Financial Group.
Documents and emails implicated several red flags in question and the financial group warned the Ball’s last October via email that Lonzo’s personal taxes and Big Baller’s taxes were not adding up. When the dust settled,there was 1.5 million unaccounted for.
Per ESPN: A source close to Lonzo Ball had concerns about Alan Foster months before he cut ties with him.
At first, Lonzo elected to defer to his father, Lavar, but he was focused on his duties with his two other sons overseas.
When Lavar Ball was finally made aware of the situation, he was “stunned” and told ESPN through a statement that the situation was devastating:
“I’ve always believed in the best in people,” he said.
“Regretfully, I put my complete trust in Alan Foster to manage my son’s business affairs,” LaVar said. “At the end of the day, family comes first, and I support Zo wholeheartedly. Together, we will make this right.”
Lonzo Ball was a guest on “The Shop” with Lakers teammate, LeBron James and actors, Seth Rogen and Don Cheadle.
Houston Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, Beats By Dre co-founder Jimmy Iovine were also in attendance alongside, Maverick Carter, Pharrell Williams, Paul Rivera, and Travis Scott.
“When I bought my mom and dad a house, he had a room,” Ball said of Alan Foster.
Here’s the rest of the commentary from Ball in a transcript via Landon Buford:
“The way I feel about it is different. That’s why I covered up the BBB on my arm. When I saw that, I saw him. When we looked at his transactions, the s**t didn’t start happening until my mom got sick. Because she took care of all the money s**t, that s**t hurt me. I don’t even know what I would do if I saw him.”
Lonzo noted that the incident with Foster made a man of him and it actually created a shift with he and his father. “I can tell him [Lavar] anything,” he said.
“That’s the first time I called him and he literally shut up; I would say that. That was the first time I was like: ‘You need to listen.'”