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LaVar Ball is always looking to make a buck off his famous children. That hasn’t stopped even as his youngest son LaMelo Ball has enrolled back in high school in the United States at Ohio’s SPIRE Institute following his bizarre adventure as a pro in Lithuania.
Ball and SPIRE are set to play in an event in Kentucky this weekend. If you want to take video of it, it’s going to cost you $3,500 at the gate.
Here's the email telling video outlets they must pay $3,500 to film LaMelo and @SpireBasketball this weekend in Kentucky. pic.twitter.com/XoiiorNxVr
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) January 17, 2019
Several outlets have agreed to the fee, according to reporter Adam Zagoria. Mixtape makers can film the rest of the teams at the event for free — just not SPIRE. This is how Big Baller Brand does business.
This is nothing out of the ordinary for Big Baller Brand or SPIRE. Big Baller Brand reportedly requested a $10K appearance fee to appear at the prestigious Hoophall Classic in Massachusetts. When the event balked, SPIRE dropped out. SPIRE and BBB have also reached an agreement with FloHoops to stream the program’s games this season for $5K per game. There’s also BBB’s agreement with Facebook for the Ball family reality show “Ball in the Family” as well as the company’s well-publicized apparel line.
The field this weekend in Kentucky also features Julian Newman, another mixtape legend who has gained attention for his, let’s say, superfluous crossovers. Here’s the full schedule for the event:
Big Baller Beatdown gets underway this weekend. Two days of elite talent, including the showdown between LaMelo Ball and Julian Newman, you won't want to miss this!
— The Grind Session (@thegrindsession) January 14, 2019
Live stream: https://t.co/V7fUxnKRi9
️Tickets: https://t.co/ZJkcepSpJO pic.twitter.com/zHgQXlYioh
And yes, LaMelo Ball still says he wants to play major college basketball next season. Will he even be eligible? The Ball family continues to give us plenty to talk about.