LaVar Ball reprimanded by ESPN for ‘completely inappropriate’ remark to Molly Qerim Rose

ESPN officially reprimanded LaVar Ball on Tuesday for a remark the media personality and former athlete made to “First Take” co-host Molly Qerim Rose on Monday.

“LaVar Ball’s comment to Molly Qerim Rose was completely inappropriate and we made him aware of that,” the network said in a statement to The Hill.

Ball, father of NBA player Lonzo Ball and creator of Big Baller Brand, was making an appearance on “First Take” when Qerim Rose said she wanted to “switch gears” and move on to another topic, to which Ball responded, “You can switch gears with me anytime.”

Qerim Rose brushed the comment off, telling Ball “let’s stay focused here.”

Lavar Ball really just made this comment to Molly Qerim on live TV. Props to Molly for the way she handled it. #FirstTake pic.twitter.com/BIP6Kwc777

— Dave Barabas (@barabas_dave) June 17, 2019

A spokesperson for Ball denied there was any sexual connotation with the comment.

{mosads}“[LaVar] was asked if he wanted to switch gears, in his mind, switching gears was ‘changing the subject anytime’ and he said, ‘yes, you can switch gears with me anytime,’ ” Denise White said in a statement to TMZ. “At NO time was that intended or meant to be sexual in nature.”

This is not the first time Ball’s on-air interactions with female hosts have drawn criticism.

In 2017, the frequent sport show guest told Fox Sports 1’s Kristine Leahy to “stay in your lane” when she asked him how many shoes his brand had sold.

When host Colin Cowherd stepped in and told Ball that Leahy is a reporter doing her job, Ball said “she can report to whoever she wants behind her.”