The Charlotte Hornets and LaMelo Ball have been sued by a North Carolina mother who claims the 22-year-old basketball star drove over her son’s foot while the boy was attempting to get an autograph from Ball, according to multiple reports.
The incident allegedly took place during a fan event hosted by the Hornets called “Purple and Teal Day at the Hive” in October 2023, according to court documents obtained by ESPN that were reportedly filed on May 21.
The mother, Tamaria McRae, alleged that her 12-year-old son Angell Joseph, who was 11 at the time of the incident, was waiting for Ball outside of the employee entrance at Spectrum Center in downtown Charlotte before he was “severely” injured by the athlete’s car, per ESPN’s report.
McRae spoke to local Charlotte news station WSOCTV about the incident, claiming that her son told Ball, “LaMelo, I love you,” and asked for an autograph before the athlete ignored the request and drove off.
According to ESPN’s report, Angell and a group of fans had approached Ball’s car while he was stopped at a traffic light after exiting the arena.
McRae claimed in the lawsuit that although Ball noticed her son standing beside the car before the light turned green, the Hornets star drove away “in a grossly negligent and reckless manner in that he accelerated his vehicle forward suddenly and without warning and struck” Angell, per ESPN’s report.
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