Notorious basketball dad LaVar Ball has been unofficially banned by ESPN after making an on-air comment to a female host that the network later described as ‘completely inappropriate.’

According to Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, the network has ‘no plans [to use Ball] moving forward.’ Furthermore, an ESPN source told Deitsch that ESPN.com will no longer use Ball as source, either on or off the record.

In speaking on ESPN’s ‘First Take’ on Monday, Ball veered off topic, prompting host Molly Qerim to say, ‘LaVar, can I switch gears with you because I have a question here.’

Ball quickly responded, ‘You can switch gears with me anytime,’ while appearing to mime the act of shifting a manual transmission.

When reached for comment, an ESPN spokesperson reiterated that the network has ‘no plans moving forward’ to use Ball in any way.

In speaking on ESPN’s ‘First Take,’ Ball veered off topic, prompting host Molly Qerim to say, ‘LaVar, can I switch gears with you because I have a question here.’ Ball quickly responded, ‘You can switch gears with me anytime,’ while appearing to mime that exact motion

Following Ball’s comment, Qerim (left) rolled her eyes and smiled before taking a deep breath and continuing. Ball (right with son LaMelo) was on the show to discuss his oldest, Lonzo, who had just been traded from his hometown Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans

Former ESPN host Jemele Hill was among those criticizing both Ball and the network

Co-host Stephen A. Smith responded by giving Ball a look out of the corner of his eye, while the other co-host, Max Kellerman, cracked a smile.

Qerim rolled her eyes and smiled before taking a deep breath and continuing.

ESPN released a statement condemning Ball: ‘LaVar Ball’s comment to Molly Qerim Rose was completely inappropriate and we made him aware of that.’

Towards the end of Monday’s show, Qerim referenced Ball’s earlier comment, saying, ‘If anyone’s calling HR today, it’s me.’

In his own defense, Ball released a statement through spokeswoman Denise White, claiming he did not intend to make a sexually suggestive remark.

‘[LaVar] was asked if he wanted to switch gears, in his mind switching gears was ‘changing the subject anytime’ and he said, ‘yes, you can switch gears with me anytime.’ At NO time was that intended or meant to be sexual in nature,’ read the statement, which was published by TMZ.

Ball was in studio Monday to discuss the recently-agreed-upon trade that will send his oldest son, Lonzo, from his hometown Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans

Ball was in studio Monday to discuss the recently-agreed-upon trade that will send his oldest son, Lonzo, from his hometown Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans. (The trade cannot be officially completed until July)

Ball’s occasional appearances on the network as well has his interviews with ESPN.com have been a point of contention.

In January of 2018, Ball told ESPN that his son Lonzo no longer wanted to play for then-Los Angeles Lakers coach Luke Walton.

Besides rankling the Lakers brass, the interview infuriated Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle, who serves as President of the National Basketball Coaches Association.

‘ESPN is an NBA partner, and they’ve been a great one,’ Carlisle said at the time. ‘Part of that partnership … the coaches do a lot of things to help them with access, interviews, and all those kinds of things. In exchange for that, they should back up the coaches. Printing an article where the father of an NBA player has an opinion that is printed as anything like legitimate erodes trust. It erodes the trust we’ve built with ESPN, and our coaches are upset.’

In speaking with ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, Ball did not hide his displeasure over the trade

LaVar Ball’s comments were made to ESPN while he was in Lithuania, where his two younger sons were briefly playing professionally.

This week, former ESPN host Jemele Hill criticized both Ball and the network.

‘Kudos to Molly Querim for the professional way she handled LaVar Ball after his inappropriate comment,’ Hill wrote. ‘Maybe ESPN will have finally learned its lesson about putting him on TV.’

LaVar Ball’s three sons have all played professional basketball. LaMelo (left) recently signed to play in Australia after playing in Lithuania with LiAngelo (center). Lonzo Ball is on his way to the New Orleans Pelicans in a trade that will send All-Star Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers

In 2017, Ball told a female anchor on Fox Sports, ‘stay in your lane.’

Ball was in studio Monday to discuss the recently-agreed-upon trade that will send his oldest son, Lonzo, from his hometown Los Angeles Lakers to the New Orleans Pelicans.

After learning about the deal on the PA system at a Drew League basketball game in Los Angeles, Ball responded by blasting the Lakers organization.

‘It’ll be the worst move the Lakers ever did in their life and they’ll never win another championship, guarantee it,’ LaVar told ESPN. ‘They’re going to regret it. I’m going to have fun with it.’

Ball had previously predicted that all three of his sons would play on the Lakers.

However LiAngelo – who was famously arrested for stealing sunglasses during a UCLA team trip to China in 2017 – went undrafted and is not expected to play in the NBA.

LaMelo, the youngest, announced Monday that he plans to play for Australia’s Illawarra Hawks next season rather than playing college basketball in the United States.

There were questions about his eligibility, after both he and LiAngelo played professionally in Lithuania. Further complicating matters is LaMelo’s involvement in the family’s apparel company, Big Baller Brand, because the NCAA prohibits its athletes from signing endorsement deals.