LaMelo Ball broke foot of boy seeking autograph when he drove over it, lawsuit alleges

The videos are plentiful. LaMelo Ball speeding out of the Charlotte Hornets’ players parking lot after a game, gunning the accelerator and running the first red light down the street. Fans line the lot, hoping against hope that Ball or a teammate will slow, roll down a window and sign whatever they hand him.

Angell Joseph was one of the hopeful Oct. 7, 2023, and according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court in North Carolina, Ball drove over his foot and broke it. Angell was 11 at the time and attempting to get an autograph outside Spectrum Center Arena after the team’s Purple and Teal Day, an annual scrimmage designed to increase fan support ahead of the regular season.

Instead, the lawsuit says, Ball barreled over Angell’s foot, failing to “yield the right of way to a pedestrian” or to “apply his brakes in time to avoid an accident.” The lawsuit says Angell suffered injuries that took several months to heal and damages totaling more than $25,000.

“[Angell] was like, ‘LaMelo, I love you. I love you, sign my … give me your autograph. Can you sign it for me?'” Angell’s mother, Tamaria McRae, told Charlotte station WSOC-TV.

Read more: LaMelo and Lonzo Ball sued for more than $200 million by Big Baller Brand co-founder

The lawsuit also targets the Hornets, alleging the team did not provide adequate security and pedestrian control measures at the players’ parking lot.

Ball, of course, is the youngest of three brothers who became wildly popular while starring at Chino Hills High. Ball scored 92 points in one high school game, skipped college in favor of playing for professional teams in Lithuania at age 16 and in Australia at 18 ahead of the 2020 NBA draft, when he was taken third overall by the Hornets.

Meanwhile, he withstood the notoriety orchestrated by his bombastic father, LaVar Ball, that began when the oldest Ball brother, Lonzo, became a star and has never really ceased. LaVar launched the Big Baller Brand of merchandise and a family reality show on Facebook.

But for all of LaVar’s bluster and outrageous assertions, two of his sons became NBA stars (middle son LiAngelo, 25, has…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/lamelo-ball-drove-over-foot-152756815.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-05-22 15:27:56

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