The videos are plentiful. LaMelo Ball speeding out of the Charlotte Hornets’ players parking lot after a game, gunning the accelerator and running the first red light down the street. Fans line the lot, hoping against hope that Ball or a teammate will slow, roll down a window and sign whatever they hand him.
Angell Joseph was one of the hopeful Oct. 7, 2023, and according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Mecklenburg County Superior Court in North Carolina, Ball drove over his foot and he suffered injuries that took several months to heal. Joseph was 11 at the time and attempting to get an autograph outside Spectrum Center Arena after the team’s Purple and Teal Day, an annual scrimmage designed to increase fan support ahead of the regular season.