The authority for innovative and contrarian sporting coverage at the time, Sports Illustrated, spurred an outburst of public dialogue with a memorable magazine cover introducing readers to the disturbing wildfire of deaths spreading throughout the inner city kindled by a particular brand of shoes in 1990.
Michael Jordan was far removed from a burgeoning deity as a bonafide living legend and hero worship in the decade preceding the explosion of the mainstream digital sphere bordered on the pathological and preyed upon the dreams and imagination accompanying vanity.
In the latest breach of the sacred and timeless bond between fathers and sons leading candidate for worst dad of the century, LaVar Ball, again made headlines as a gelatinous and gluttonous purveyor of nonsense, as he allegedly rebuked multiple lucrative contract offers to his son, Lonzo, from the major shoe brands. The polarizing figure living vicariously through his children has dominated the undesirable end of the news cycle with a publicly callous attitude and marked by bizarrely unfeasible claims. His reckless arrogance and putrid business sense of the overbearing buffoon has led to a pending ideological shoe riot and an extreme vertical uphill battle with an NBA legend.
According to Fox Sports, the official attire lineup of aspiring professional star Lonzo Ball was launched Thursday and highlighted by a pair of shoes retailing at $495. The unveiling of the “Big Baller” brand and ridiculous price point to the average consumer immediately sent shockwaves around the athletic community and raised the question, “does the high value of the put a noticeable target on the owner, echoing the phenomenon of crime and violence surrounding the release of Air Jordans in the early 1990’s?”
Celebrity and basketball diplomat Shaquille O’Neal, was one of the first to take the offensive in admonishing the cost of the shoes and fired a sarcastic retort squarely at the ego of the senior Ball.
Shaq offers a signature line of athletic shoes that start at only $13 per pair.
As Lonzo Ball has yet to set a single sole worth nearly $200 onto to the polished hardwood of the rugged learning curve of the professional ranks, success is as far as a guarantee as the game is as pure as the days of the great Michael Jordan. While there is no disrespect or ill will directed at Ball and his attempt at evolving into an NBA contributor, one cannot ignore the large and looming shadow cast by the efforts and ideals of a reckless force of narcissism, blindly pining for stardom. However, what cannot be overlooked is the elder Ball’s commitment, though as misdirected as former NBA commissioner David Stern’s executive decisions, to the growth of a trio of budding superstars in including Lonzo. In a culture where fatherhood is becoming a taboo, a caring dad is a better alternative to no dad at all.
Read the full Fox Sports story here.
