LaVar Ball Asks Sons to Fund Big Baller Brand Rebirth

Looks like the “ball” is in his sons’ court! LaVar Ball, father to NBA player Lonzo Ball and international player LaMelo Ball, has asked his sons for money to invest in the Big Baller Brand that he started several years ago, according to the New York Post.

On a recent episode of Ball in the Family, the Facebook Watch reality show that follows the lives of the Ball family, LaVar tried to encourage his sons to reinvest in the apparel company. “The more special you get, all these people will be coming in with all this other s–t because everybody want a piece,” he says in a clip. “What we got going on is gonna be a billion-dollar thing—everybody gotta put their teeth in it somewhere. And as a family, we just gotta stick together. Like, OK, we good. Put your money over there. My money over here … Melo over there. And we put all our money together, that’s where the venture capitalists come in and say, ‘We got a hundred mil’ for y’all.’ We don’t need to have a hundred mil’. We got it right here if we put our (sh–) together.”

Last year, due to discrepancies found during audits of Ball’s Big Baller Brand, co-founder Alan Foster was fired for allegedly embezzling funds. Back in March of 2019, Lonzo told ESPN that he believes Foster, a friend of LaVar’s for almost a decade who owns 16.3% of Big Baller Brand, had “used his access to my business and personal finances to enrich himself. As a result, I have decided to sever all ties with Alan, effective immediately.”

LaVar put out a statement at the time, “Unfortunately, Alan Foster continues to try and leverage the Ball family name for his own gain. Alan Foster is a convicted felon who served seven years in jail for defrauding people out of their money. He is a thief and con man and cannot be believed or trusted.”

Lonzo and LaMelo went public about separating themselves from the company while middle brother LiAngelo stayed with the brand. Lonzo, who played for the Los Angeles Lakers last season, is currently playing for the New Orleans Pelicans, while his brother LaMelo is expected to be a high NBA draft pick after the season. LiAngelo joined the Oklahoma City Blue, an NBA G League team, as a practice player in December.

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Vanessa Bryant Reveals Mamba Sports Foundation Name Change to Include Daughter Gianna

In recognition of her daughter Gianna, Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, has decided to change the name of the Mamba Sports Foundation to Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation according to People.

Vanessa Bryant continues to cope with the death of her husband and daughter after they both perished in a helicopter crash several weeks ago, Bryant made the announcement via her Instagram account.

 

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Because there is no #24 without #2, we have updated the Mamba Sports Foundation to now be called the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. Our mission remains the same – and stronger than ever – to provide opportunities to young people through sports. Thank you all for the outpouring of support and your kind donations to date as we carry forth Kobe and Gigi’s legacy.. We hope to empower young athletes in a world they left us all to help shape. #Mamba #Mambacita #wings @mambamambacitasports

A post shared by Vanessa Bryant (@vanessabryant) on Feb 13, 2020 at 1:02pm PST

The retired basketball player was killed in a helicopter crash on January 26 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers: John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Ara Zobayan, Sarah Chester and Payton Chester.

The foundation focuses on empowering underserved communities through youth sports. Bryant called himself “The Black Mamba” representing his ‘on court’ persona and his daughter, Gianna, who also excelled at basketball, was known as “Mambacita” as she was following in his footsteps by playing youth basketball.

In honor of the Byrants, at this year’s NBA All-Star Game, Team LeBron and Team Giannis will wear No. 2 and No. 24, respectively, on their jerseys as a dedication and memorial for Kobe and Gianna.

 

Bryant played his whole 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a 5-time NBA World Champion, a 2-time Finals MVP, and the 2008 Most Valuable Player. During Bryant’s career he made the All-Star team 18 times. He was the youngest player to ever reach 30,000 points.

Bryant retired from the NBA in 2016 and scored a NBA-season high 60 points in his final game.

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Vanessa Bryant Reveals Mamba Sports Foundation Name Change to Include Daughter Gianna

In recognition of her daughter Gianna, Kobe Bryant’s wife, Vanessa Bryant, has decided to change the name of the Mamba Sports Foundation to Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation according to People.

Vanessa Bryant continues to cope with the death of her husband and daughter after they both perished in a helicopter crash several weeks ago, Bryant made the announcement via her Instagram account.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Because there is no #24 without #2, we have updated the Mamba Sports Foundation to now be called the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation. Our mission remains the same – and stronger than ever – to provide opportunities to young people through sports. Thank you all for the outpouring of support and your kind donations to date as we carry forth Kobe and Gigi’s legacy.. We hope to empower young athletes in a world they left us all to help shape. #Mamba #Mambacita #wings @mambamambacitasports

A post shared by Vanessa Bryant (@vanessabryant) on Feb 13, 2020 at 1:02pm PST

The retired basketball player was killed in a helicopter crash on January 26 along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other passengers: John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Alyssa Altobelli, Christina Mauser, Ara Zobayan, Sarah Chester and Payton Chester.

The foundation focuses on empowering underserved communities through youth sports. Bryant called himself “The Black Mamba” representing his ‘on court’ persona and his daughter, Gianna, who also excelled at basketball, was known as “Mambacita” as she was following in his footsteps by playing youth basketball.

In honor of the Byrants, at this year’s NBA All-Star Game, Team LeBron and Team Giannis will wear No. 2 and No. 24, respectively, on their jerseys as a dedication and memorial for Kobe and Gianna.

 

Bryant played his whole 20-year NBA career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a 5-time NBA World Champion, a 2-time Finals MVP, and the 2008 Most Valuable Player. During Bryant’s career he made the All-Star team 18 times. He was the youngest player to ever reach 30,000 points.

Bryant retired from the NBA in 2016 and scored a NBA-season high 60 points in his final game.

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Michelle Obama gets real about life after the White House

Former First Lady Michelle Obama recently sat down with friend Oprah Winfrey to discuss her journey after the White House.

During Winfrey’s 2020 Vision: Your Life in Focus tour, sponsored by Weight Watchers, she and Obama took the stage at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn, New York to discuss life after her husband’s, Barack Obama, term as president ended in January 2017. The full interview aired on Feb 12.

During the interview, Obama went on to tell Winfrey that she is still on a mission according to The Root.

READ MORE: Michelle Obama announces new Instagram TV series

“The next phase of my journey of becoming is really continuing to make sure that what I do has meaning and purpose to somebody outside of myself,” she said. “I want to empower the next generation of politicians, and community activists, and teachers and doctors and lawyers. I want to be a part of laying out a set of values and principles that we can all be proud of; of this country.”

Obama is now a best-selling author and Grammy winner thanks to her book “Becoming,” which is now the best-selling memoir ever, and its Audiobook. Still, she told her friend Winfrey that she remembers where she came from.

READ MORE: Barack and Michelle Obama’s first Netflix film wins Oscar for Best Documentary

“I’m Michelle from the South Side of Chicago,” she said. “[W]e were raised with the [idea that] that’s enough. You be grateful for what you have and you don’t look at the next thing. You be happy with what you have, and that’s how we worked in the White House. That didn’t change because we moved to a different house…The House didn’t define us, it’s the values that defined us.”

The former First Lady and the president are now empty-nesters now that their daughters Malia, 21, and daughter Sasha, 18, are college students. Obama went on to explain that it is important for their daughters to find their own way. She said it was also important that they were “checked by somebody younger than me.”

“They cannot define themselves by looking at each other or looking at me or their dad,” Obama said. “They have to take the time to get to know themselves—give themselves a moment to figure out who they want to be in the world, not who they think I want them to be, not what the rest of the world says about them, but to really think about how they want to shape their lives and how they want to move in this world. So, I don’t want them measuring themselves by external influences, and for young girls, that is hard to do.”

READ MORE: She’s Just Like Us: Michelle Obama had insecurities that her 2019 book and tour would be a flop

With this being Valentine’s Day weekend, of course, many find themselves looking Obama and her husband for love inspiration. Obama has always kept it real about how much hard work goes into their marriage and according to The Root, she said they are finally seeing each other for the first time in a long time.

“You can have chunks of hard, bad times and if that’s how you define your marriage by just the hard times, then you’ll miss the truth of what’s really there,” Obama said.

Watch the full interview below.

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