Bro, look at the way LaMelo Ball drives and tell me he isn't (likely) 100% responsible for running over a kid's foot while rejecting an autograph request.
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Yeah, LaMelo Ball is for sure sus on this one. Like, they're not even exaggerating when they add that Grand Theft Auto graphic at the bottom. Dude just drives however he pleases and cares not about the other drivers, let alone pedestrians and fans.
So then this wasn't all that surprising when I read about it.
A North Carolina mother is suing the Charlotte Hornets and LaMelo Ball after the team's star guard allegedly struck her son with his vehicle during an attempt to obtain Ball's autograph.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed Tuesday and obtained by ESPN, the alleged incident occurred in early October, when the Hornets hosted a fan-focused event at the Spectrum Center in downtown Charlotte called 'Purple and Teal Day at the Hive.'
After attending the event, Tamaria McRae stated that her then-11-year-old son Angell Joseph, who is now 12, stood outside the arena's employee entrance when Ball's SUV exited the arena.
And if Tamaria had seen the above video, she'd have known this wasn't a good idea. You just don't want to be anywhere near that man's vehicle when he's in the driver's seat.
So then the inevitable happened.
Ball stopped at a nearby traffic light, and fans, including Joseph, approached Ball's vehicle. McRae said Ball looked at her son from his vehicle as Joseph stood next to it and, when the light turned green, alleged that Ball drove 'in a grossly negligent and reckless manner in that he accelerated his vehicle forward suddenly and without warning and struck' her son, 'severely injuring him.' She claimed that Ball then left the scene.
According to McRae's attorney, Cameron deBrun, Joseph suffered foot and back injuries in the incident.
McRae alleged that the injury caused severe physical pain and emotional distress from a player her son considered his hero. In the lawsuit, McRae is seeking damages in excess of $25,000.
How terrible!
Though I'm surprised he even stopped at that red light in the first place.
How about that? You get out to an exciting event meant for young fans and instead of getting that autograph you were hoping for, you get your foot run over by your hero as he speeds away from your autograph request.
And seven months after the incident, we still have no comment from Ball or his team, the Hornets.
The irony of this kid's injury is pretty interesting as well:
Ball initially injured his ankle on Nov. 26 in Orlando. He missed the next 20 games, then returned to play seven games and has been sidelined since. He will finish the season with averages of 23.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.8 steals in 32.2 minutes; combined with a true shooting percentage of 56.1% and a usage rate of 31.5%, these numbers represent the best production of his career, but they come with an asterisk: He appeared in only 22 games.
This is Ball's second straight season cut short by ankle issues. He played in 36 games in 2022-23 as a result of three separate ankle injuries, including a broken right ankle that required season-ending surgery. The Hornets went 27-55 that season and 18-54 this season.
So when we say Hornets "star" LaMelo Ball, that star sort of acts like a big ol' asterisk since he's been injured for much of his career.
Originally, McRae wasn't going to file a lawsuit, but when they tried to file a claim with Ball's insurance company they found it was missing from the police report. Ball's name, even, was missing from this report; so they had no choice but to go the legal route. She's also suing the Hornets.
And I don't know about you guys, but $25,000 for this kid's injury, which left him depressed and in recovery for months, doesn't seem like enough. If LaMelo was a good guy, he'd throw up a good 100k and call it even.
Ball's in your court, LaMelo.
I'll leave you with this from the local news:
