Lakers limit media access by enforcing ‘LaVar Ball rule,’ but what will it really solve?

The Los Angeles Lakers have begun enforcing what is unofficially known as the “LaVar Ball rule” with media members this season. With this rule, media members are no longer allowed to loiter in the family-and-friends section of the arena after games, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes.

Family, friends and agents wait for players in the seats behind the basket closest to the visiting team’s locker room at the conclusion of games. Interviews conducted in that designated area and near the tunnel leading to the arena corridors are now forbidden.

Not being able to congregate the family-and-friends section means that media members cannot gather around LaVar Ball, who attends Lakers games sitting in that section to watch his son Lonzo. Several times this season, Ball had conducted interviews immediately following Lakers games from that location. In one instance last week, Ball criticized Julius Randle for failing to pass ahead to Lonzo Ball on the game’s final play.

The Lakers insist that this rule already existed, and that they are now only enforcing it more stringently. Interviews in that area and near the tunnel that leads to it are forbidden, and media members spotted in that area will be asked to leave by security. In previous years, media members had not been interfered with while socializing in the family-and-friends section.

LaVar Ball is also not allowed to conduct interviews on the court since he is not credentialed to be on the court. Ball had conducted an on-court interview after the Lakers’ opening night loss.

Despite its appearance, the Lakers are not directly cracking down or punishing the media. (Indirectly, this does make the media’s job harder, as ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne points out.) Instead, Los Angeles is attempting to limit when and how often media members can access LaVar Ball.

We all know how loud-mouthed Ball has been this year since ascending to a national stage with his ridiculous statements and basketball-playing sons. Ball will never pass up an interview, but Los Angeles believes it can reduce them by enforcing this rule. Ball has criticized the Lakers and head coach Luke Walton in multiple instances since this season began. That’s his right, but it puts Los Angeles in an awkward spot.

Look, yes, it’s dumb. The Lakers knew the player they were drafting, and they knew the circus that would come with him. By selecting Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick, Los Angeles was well aware that LaVar Ball was going to be a pain in their ass.

However, I don’t think it’s hypocritical for the Lakers to attempt to lessen his impact. ESPN’s Bobby Marks phrases it well.

With this new rule, LaVar Ball may not be approached by media members looking for inflammatory quotes as frequently, and thus, he may not criticize the team as often.

That said ...

The Lakers know this. They knew it when they drafted Lonzo Ball. They probably know it now, even with this rule in place. If LaVar Ball wants to talk shit about the Lakers, he’s going to find a media member and talk his shit. Los Angeles cannot put a rule in place to prevent that.

Or as Zach Lowe sarcastically put it:

This rule might help, but it’s still just a Band-Aid on the hull of the Titanic.