Adidas officials said it made “the wrong decision” to replace a female referee after LaVar Ball complained and threatened to pull his team from the court at a company-sponsored AAU basketball tournament in Las Vegas.
“The referee substitutions made during our tournament last week are not in line with our company values,” Adidas said in a statement Monday received by ESPN. “It was the wrong decision. We regret the situation and are looking into the matter to make sure our standards for sportsmanship, equality and fair play are met in the future.”
The apology came after the group that supplied officials for the Adidas Uprising Summer Championships is terminating its five-year relationship with Adidas after the brand replaced a female referee at the urging of LaVar Ball.
“The events that led to the removal of a female official on Friday are something that shall not and will not be accepted within the officiating community,” Court Club Elite, an organization that trains and develops referees at amateur and professional levels, said in its statement to ESPN. “Adidas and their leadership acted in a manner that does not parallel our views on integrity or professionalism, and neither should be compromised as they were in this situation.”
On Friday morning, LaVar Ball threatened to pull LaMelo Ball, his son, and the rest of the Big Baller Brand AAU team from the game if his demand to remove the female referee was not met. LaVar Ball was assigned a technical foul by the official with the same official also handing him a technical foul in a game on Wednesday.
