Is Switching Gears Too Much for TV?

Last week, Lavar Ball made an appearance of ESPN's First Take to discuss his family, and his thoughts on the Lakers most recent trade. The Lakers-Pelicans transaction shipped Lavar Ball's son, Lonzo Ball, and quite a few other pieces to New Orleans, while Los Angeles acquired the highly-coveted Anthony Davis. Ball's initial response to the trade was that "it was the worst decision the Lakers have ever made and they would never win another championship." As insane as that statement was, that wasn't what threw the media up in arms from that episode of First Take.

ESPN's Molly Qerim asked Ball to "shift gears with him" attempting to change the topic of discussion, and Ball responded with "You can switch gears with me anytime," followed by a gear shift hand gesture. Qerim, clearly taken by surprise by his response from the look on her face, before continuing conversation, politely asked Ball to stay focused and on topic. Although, they might have brushed his statement under the rug in that very moment, things were far from settled.

Social media was buzzing for days about what Ball said and what he might have/might not have meant. Buzzing to the point where I feel as though ESPN felt peer pressured into punishing Ball for his remarks. This is not the first time Ball has mentioned switching gears (with the same hand motion used both times) on First Take, so why is he being punished now? I feel as though Qerim took his statement to that level with the face she made and the awkward pause. Now, she has every right to feel uncomfortable if his comment made her feel that way. However, being banned from all ESPN talk shows is quite an extreme punishment for a situation that could EASILY be interpreted two different ways.

Ball later came out and explained that he had no sexual intent towards Qerim, he doesn't need ESPN because he has his OWN shows, and that the only way he would hit on her "is if she broke in his house and he mistook her for the boogie man."

Here's a link for further research: https://www.businessinsider.com/lavar-ball-banned-espn-first-take-2019-6