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The Big Baller Brand is winning.
For the past week, LaVar Ball has found himself in a beef with the most powerful man in the free World.
It all started when President Donald Trump demanded a “thank you” from LiAngelo Ball and his two teammates after Trump claims he personally spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping about freeing the players who were in trouble for shoplifting at three luxury stores in China.
Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2017
On Monday, LiAngelo’s father, LaVar, went on CNN and refused to thank the President. .
“I don’t have to go around saying ‘thank you’ to everybody,” “He didn’t call me. I didn’t shake his hand. He didn’t have to say nothin’, but I’m just sayin’. I have to know what somebody is doing before I say ‘thank you.’ I’m not just going to go around saying thank you.”
“Maybe we were doing some talking with some other people before he even got there,” Ball said, before adding that the president should deal with political matters, “there is a lot of other matters going around for the president to deal with that’s political. As far as me, let me deal with my son.”
Early this morning, Trump took to Twitter to once against blast LaVar Ball for not thanking him.
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
Apparently LaVar’s beef with the President has gained him an insane amount of free publicity for Big Baller Brand.
$13.2 million: Estimated ad value to Big Baller Brand since LaVar & Trump began their back & forth on 11/17, according to @ApexMGAnalytics pic.twitter.com/hCrm80ENPV
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) November 22, 2017
It’s pretty crazy how LaVar Ball was basically an unknown parent and is now a household name.