“I just want to clear the air about the comment I made yesterday,” Ball said in his remarks to the media. “I didn’t mean anything by it, and I never want to offend anyone. I have love for everyone and don’t discriminate.”
LaMelo Ball put up 31 points and 12 assists in the Hornets’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers, shooting 11-of-29 from the field.
Earlier, Charlotte’s first-year head coach Charles Lee shared that he had spoken with Ball about the incident. Lee described Ball as being “very apologetic” and said the young guard was committed to learning from the situation.
Hornets head coach Charles Lee emphasized that the team does not tolerate such behavior, saying, “As an organization, that’s obviously not something we condone. Our standards and the environment we create for our players are very important to us.”
Lee explained that he had spoken with LaMelo Ball, who expressed regret for his comment. “He’s obviously very apologetic,” Lee said. “From what I’ve seen, Melo loves everyone. He’s a great presence at the facility, and this isn’t typical of how he behaves. We talked about the seriousness of the situation and how he needs to handle himself moving forward.”
Lee expressed confidence that Ball would follow through on his commitment to improve. “He told me, ‘I’m going to be better,’ and I want to see that,” Lee said. “For someone to say something like that, we’ll hold him accountable to his words.”
LaMelo Ball scored 26 points in the Hornets’ victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, including two clutch free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining that put Charlotte ahead for good.
In his fifth season, Ball is averaging 29.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 5.3 rebounds per game. He was named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2020-21 and earned an All-Star selection the following season.
