In January, LaVar Ball announced he had cut off access to the family to two ESPN reporters, one of whom was the seasoned hoops journalist Jeff Goodman, who had been covering the Balls' tenure in Lithuania.
"I sent Jeff Goodman home early," Ball said at the time. "Otherwise he would have still been out here. But how are you going to be out here if I won't interview with you no more? You got to come home."
ESPN refuted Ball's account and said Goodman came home after eight days as planned, but Ball added that Goodman "ain't my guy no more" and called him "sheisty."
The reason for the beef? Goodman had made public comments Ball had made about Lakers coach Luke Walton. Ball had told Goodman that Walton had lost control of the team and the Lakers did not want to play for him anymore. As the Ball camp tells it, Goodman did not have permission to share those comments. Goodman refutes that account.
The latest episode of Ball in the Family shows that conflict reaching a fever pitch between Goodman and the Ball family's associates, Alan Foster and Harrison Gaines. You can see the confrontation around the 12:30 mark of the below video.
Following the Balls' debut game in Lithuania, Goodman attempted to grab the youngest, LaMelo, for a one-on-one interview. He was denied, and this denial led to the intense conversation.
Foster called out Goodman for publishing off-the-record information. Goodman says LaVar told him it was on the record. It's a lot of "he said, he said."
Goodman retweeted the following post Tuesday.
In @GoodmanESPN 's defense Lavar Ball made those comments about the Lakers on record and told Jeff he could write them. Case closed. https://t.co/74QsdYcRiv
Goodman seemed happy to have his access to the Ball family revoked.
Great day.
