Scott Van Pelt Was Ahead of the Curve on LaVar Ball, and Still Does Not Want to Have Him On

Scott Van Pelt joined Jimmy Traina’s SI media podcast, and in light of everything that happened with Molly Qerim this week Traina asked him if he would ever have LaVar Ball on midnight SportsCenter (23:50-mark):

“I’ve made a point not to talk about him,” Van Pelt answered. “I don’t know why I would [have him on my show]. I don’t know what the reason would be to do it, particularly because I understand the game. It doesn’t interest me is what it boils down to. I’ve seen what he does. It doesn’t interest me.”

“To say, no I wouldn’t — to talk in absolutes doesn’t really benefit you because who knows?” he continued. “Maybe. If there was a reason to, but I don’t know what that reason would be — and the reason isn’t gonna be for me to give him a mic and let him talk about how his son’s gonna be the greatest that ever was and his oldest son, how [the trade was] a mistake and the Lakers will never win. That kind of stuff, I think it’s pretty obvious what it is and I’ve said from the start, it doesn’t interest me and since I’m in charge of my show, I pass on that.”

Van Pelt has been pretty consistent about this — not just in the sense of not having Ball on, but over the past two-plus years, not even including him as a discussion topic since this segment:

Van Pelt is right in his implication here. Ball isn’t saying anything new with his shtick. His performance artistry could use a depth tune-up.

My belief, and as I said yesterday this is an about-face from how I used to feel, is that ESPN should not put Ball on their airwaves anymore, especially not with a live microphone.