Jets QB Bryce Petty Calls LaVar Ball 'Sad Man', Says He Feels Sorry for Lonzo

New York Jets quarterback Bryce Petty joined the growing chorus of athletes speaking out against LaVar Ball, father of UCLA star Lonzo Ball, calling him a "sad man" in a tweet Thursday:

Ball, whose boisterous nature and tendency to exaggerate has drawn headlines, has never mentioned Petty by name. The quarterback's comments likely come as a result of Ball's appearance on ESPN's First Take on Thursday, during which he and Stephen A. Smith engaged in a heated debate that made the public rounds.

Ball has, among other things, claimed he could have beaten Michael Jordan in one-on-one in an interview with USA Today, told ESPN Lonzo is a better player than Stephen Curry and drew the ire of LeBron James by publicly discussing his sons.

James publicly admonished Ball earlier this week in an interview with ESPN's Dave McMenamin. 

"Keep my kids' name out of your mouth. Keep my family out of your mouth," James said. "This is dad to dad. It's a problem now."

Lonzo Ball has shown no issue with his dad's public persona, carrying UCLA into a Sweet 16 matchup with Kentucky. Ball is widely expected to be a top-three pick in June's NBA draft, perhaps going as the top overall selection.

As for whether there will be any actual consequences for Lonzo because of LaVar's behavior, we'll likely have to wait until he suits up for his new team in October.