The Miz On His Feelings About Lavar Ball, LaMelo Ball Dropping The 'N-Word' On Live TV
The Miz recently appeared on the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast and discussed the time he shared a segment with the Ball Family on RAW on June 26. He revealed that the segment was largely unscripted.
With Lonzo Ball being drafted to the Los Angeles Lakers, he and his father LaVar and his brother LaMelo were invited to RAW at the Staples Center. They appeared on Miz TV, and the segment saw LaVar Ball taking his shirt off and mimicking karate moves to The Miz before Dean Ambrose broke it up. The Miz said none of it was planned.
"I walk into their dressing room to go over the script, kind of like a baseline. I ask them if they want to go over the script and they said, 'No, we're good.' I go, are you sure? LaVar Ball said, 'No, we're good.' So I guess we're just going to wing it out there. Sounds like a plan," The Miz said. "I really like LaVar Ball. I think he's just a character, and the way him and his son [Lonzo] play off of each other, like, Lonzo is very quiet. It's very much like a person who is like his Promoter. He hypes him up, but you can't help but like Lonzo because he's a quiet kid, keeps his head down, and does the best that he can possibly be."
The Miz continued to express his praise for LaVar Ball and how he's marketed himself and his sons. The Ball Family is covered heavily by the mainstream sports media, and The Miz said he admires that.
"The thing that I like about LaVar is that he promotes his kids. He is so supportive of his kids. No matter what they do; like, whether they are in China doing something, whether the kid is dropping bombs on Monday Night Raw, he always stands besides them and supports them," The Miz said. "It was not pre-planned for him to take his shirt off, at all. I was like, okay, well I'm just going to let him do his thing because guess what? People are going to be talking about it from months on end, and I swear to you, I've been doing media for the past two days for The Challenge Champs vs Stars, and I swear to you, that is the number one question that is asked, which is about LaVar Ball. That is how much of an impact that he has.
"People are always like, I can't stand LaVar Ball. Why are we always talking about him? Because, the guy knows how to create controversy and drama, and that is why he has a reality show on Facebook. He is one of those guys that you would love to hate him, but no matter what, you are talking about him. He is a Kardashian, if you will."
The segment also included a bit of controversy as microphones caught LaMelo Ball saying the "N-word" on live TV. The Miz said he was unaware that it happened because of how much other things were going on around them.
"I didn't hear it. There is so much going on. I think it was during Dean Ambrose's music," he said. "Sometimes, in the ring, sometimes you can't hear the person speaking to you. Like, I am literally really good lip reader a lot of times because there is so much."
If you use any of the quotes from this article, please credit the Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast with an H/T to WrestlingINC for the transcription.
Source: Sam Roberts Wrestling Podcast
Peter Bahi contributed to this article.