Latest stunt shows LaVar Ball isn't raising sons, he's exploiting them

Nancy Armour | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption LaVar Ball keeps getting the platform he craves Sports Pulse: The media continues to give LaVar Ball a platform, and he continues to take advantage of it.

Other parents try to provide their children with safety nets, Not LaVar Ball, though. Nope, he takes his kids' away.

Ball announced Monday that he is pulling his middle son, LiAngelo, out of UCLA, throwing away his free education at one of the country’s best universities. Why? Because the school has had the audacity to suspend LiAngelo and two teammates for shoplifting while the Bruins were in China. A crime all three admitted to, mind you.

LiAngelo won’t transfer to another school, his father said, but will instead spend the next seven months getting ready for the NBA draft. Even though LiAngelo’s chances of being drafted are only slightly better than LaVar's of being invited to the White House.

More: LaVar Ball pulls son LiAngelo Ball out of UCLA

More: Lakers enforcing 'LaVar Ball rule,' trying to keep reporters from talking to him

“I'm not sitting back and waiting," the elder Ball told ESPN. “He wasn't punished this bad in China.

"We get back over here and the consequences were even stiffer than China. So basically they're in jail here."

No, they’re being held accountable, which is what happens in the real world. You know, the place parents are supposed to prepare their children for.

But LaVar Ball isn’t concerned with his parental responsibilities anymore – if he ever was.

LaVar Ball’s defenders have always excused his grandiose statements, shameless self-promotion and inserting himself where he didn’t belong because he’s an involved father. His shtick was merely a well-crafted plan to put his sons in position to maximize the benefits of their considerable basketball skills.

But Ball’s sole priority now is building the family brand. In fact, he told ESPN he’s OK with LiAngelo and youngest son LaMelo playing overseas if it brings more attention to Big Baller Brand.

So he's going to ship his 19- and 16-year-old off to foreign countries so they can peddle shoes and T-shirts rather than staying in school. Can you say exploitation? But hey! At least they’ve got their own signature shoe lines.

The trouble with LaVar’s grand plan is that he’s leaving his sons without options. He thinks he’s a genius because the Los Angeles Lakers made oldest son Lonzo the No. 2 pick in the draft, just as he’d predicted, and that things will play out the same way for LiAngelo and LaMelo.

But LiAngelo’s stock has never been as high as his brother's, with some doubting he’ll even get drafted, let alone be a lottery pick. Unless the NBA changes its rules, LaMelo will have to wait for the 2020 draft, and being out of high-level competition for 2½ years isn’t exactly the best way to sell yourself.

If they fail to make the NBA or wash out, then what? What’s their Plan B? It certainly won’t be their educations. LiAngelo and LaMelo earned their UCLA scholarships, not LaVar, but he's the one taking them away.

Part of being a parent is making sure your kids have all the tools they need to succeed in life. By forcing his sons to give up their educations, LaVar Ball is doing the exact opposite.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.