LaVar Ball sparked controversy in his First Take appearance earlier this month when he made a suggestive remark to the show's mediator, Molly Qerim. When she attempted to get the show back on track, Qerim asked LaVar if she could "switch gears," to which he replied, "You can switch gears with me anytime." ESPN distanced themselves from his comments and effectively banned him from the network. Qerim's husband, ESPN analyst Jalen Rose, has now chimed in to say he attempted to talk out things with LaVar.
Rose said he texted LaVar numerous times following the controversy, but he ultimately "couldn't track him down." He also fully supports his wife despite the criticism that she overreacted to the inappropriate comment.
"Regardless of where you stand, you can feel that what he said was inappropriate," he explained in an Instagram Live session. "You can feel that she overreacted. However you feel, you’re entitled to your opinion. But you know what you’re not allowed to do? Is tell her how to feel.”
He made it clear that Qerim wasn't behind the decision to have LaVar banned. "Molly talks to TMZ, and they ask her a question about ‘how do you feel about LaVar being banned?’ She clearly said, ‘that’s above my pay grade, I don’t know anything about that,’" he continued. "She and I didn’t send no texts, no emails, no overtures to get anybody banned from ESPN, the company that we work for and don’t own, fools."
Rose also wanted to stress that the suggestion Qerim singled out LaVar because he's black isn't appropriate. "Y’all know she’s married to a black husband, right? She’s been doing this for 15 years," he added. "She knows how to navigate. She knows how to take care of herself."
