Lonzo Ball — the oldest of LaVar Ball’s three sons — spoke candidly this week about his parents’ breakup, and he said he believed his mom was “damn-near forced to leave” his dad.
Lonzo gave his opinion on the topic during the “Ball in the Family Podcast” that he co-hosts with his younger brother, Gelo, just days after LaVar told streamer N3on that his wife of 30 years, Tina, had left him.
“Before we move on,” Lonzo said on the show, “we gotta address the LaVar Ball, Tina Ball rumors, man.
“I’m pretty sure we all know that the internet has been in an uproar about the situation. First and foremost, I want to say I love both my parents. That situation that is put before ya’ll is not how it went down.
“I’m not about to get into all the details. My mom didn’t want to leave. She was damn-near forced to leave.”
Lonzo said he actually “helped” Tina leave his father, before he revealed the two “don’t f—k with each other” any longer.
He went on to shoot down the rumor that Tina left LaVar because he had his foot amputated.
“That’s a myth that was put out there,” the NBA free agent said. “But my dad did a great job raising us, my mom did a great job raising us. They didn’t work out. And it is what it is, man. They’re both doing well and I love them both.”
In announcing their split, LaVar appeared to blame the separation on Tina, when he said during a sitdown with N3on that she “decided to go her own way.”
“She was always beautiful in my eyes, until you want to go do something else,” LaVar said. “Now you not as beautiful to me again. If you decide to go this way, I’m gonna go that way. That’s fine. It is what it is, man.”
LaVar later said he’s recently begun dating someone else.
“I’m gonna give you something,” the 58-year-old Ball said. “It’s somebody who’s working for me. That’s what I’m telling you! That’s why.”
LaVar and Tina wed in 1997 and helped mold their three sons, Lonzo, Gelo and LaMelo Ball, into household names.
