Just when you thought the tete-a-tete between President Trump and Lavar Ball, CEO of Big Baller Brand, was about to die down the president throws another log on the fire. The president can be legal on Twitter. He took to the social media platform to get at Lavar Ball again, practically calling him a “broke Don King”:
It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t Lavar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence – it was me. Too bad! Lavar is a poor man’s version of Don King, but with without the hair.
Just think Lavar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you … remember Lavar, shoplifting is not a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!
It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence – IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017
…LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 22, 2017
A week ago “The Chinese 3” – UCLA basketball players Cody Riley, LiAngelo Ball and Jalen Hill – admitted to stealing from three different stores in China. Apparently the kids stole some high end sunglasses and other things not worth taking. What possessed the boys commit such an act … disrespecting UCLA, their parents and themselves is beyong the Shock Exchange. They were suspended by the school, which was light punishment compared to what could have happened. Apparently, shoplifting in China is punishable with 5-10 years in a Chinese prison, which is probably 50 – 100 years in U.S. terms.
UCLA was heading home and about to leave the boysPresident Xi Jinping behind. President Trump was already in China meeting with President Xi Jinping. He lobbied to get the boys released and they flew home with the team. The kids apologized for their actions and thanked President Trump for securing their release.
Is America Ready For Trump V. Lavar Ball?
End of story right? Wrong! LiAngelo’s father, Lavar Ball, downplayed Trump’s role in securing his son’s release. Ball appeared to have gotten his dander up over the mere thought that he Trump’s help in getting LiAngelo back to the U.S. The Shock Exchange assumed that Lavar simply would have thanked the president and kept it moving. The tete-a-tete between him and the president landed Ball a CNN interview with Chris Cuomo Monday – the perfect platform to promote the Big Baller Brand.
The 25 minute segment was really much ado about nothing. Chris Cuomo tried to play Howard Cosell to Ball’s Muhammad Ali. Chris Cuomo pushed Ball to admit he owed President Trump thanks, but refused. He implied that Trump was simply doing his job by getting the kids released. Trump helped the Chinese 3, not Ball and there was no need for Ball to thank the president personally. Secondly, the kids were not in a jail … they were in their hotels. Thirdly, Ball questioned Cuomo whether Trump personally got the kids released. Since no one had a videotape of Trump’s grand gesture then how could Cuomo co-sign the president. Lastly, Ball had his “people on the ground in China” and was in constant contact with LiAngelo – another random fact leading to nowhere.
The segment was basically Cuomo and Ball engaging in wordplay and “stunting for the ‘gram” as the kids would say. Ball did promote his Big Baller Brand and offered to send Cuomo some ZO2s, Big Baller t-shirts and hats. At the end of the day, the president should not have gotten the kids released with the expectation of any public thank-you from the parents. If Baller doesn’t feel the need to apologize then he should not. That said, the Shock Exchange expects back and forth between Ball and Trump to continue for some time. The blogs and social media will be lit, but no real news will come out of it.
On Trump And The Global Economy
The second installment of Trump And The Global Economy Town Hall took place October 24th in Fort Greene. It Featured Professor Lance Brofman, Coconut Rob (Coconut Rob Smoothies), Wuyi Jacobs (AfroBeats Radio) and Ralph Baker, author of Shock Exchange: How Inner-City Kids From Brooklyn Predicted the Great Recession and the Pain Ahead.
The event was well-received by the community. We parsed through President Trump’s proposed tax plan and [i] how it was pure economic folly and [ii] high net worth individuals could potentially game the system by shifting income around. Apparently, Kansas Coach Bill Self did this when the state of Kansas cut taxes in the past. We discussed the pros and cons of technology on workers and the economy. How will the economy and country prosper under Trump’s leadership vis-a-vis Obama? What’s behind the verbal sparring with black athletes, ESPN’s Jemele Hill and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un?
