The BBB is not a fan of BBB.
The Better Business Bureau, a nonprofit organization that helps consumers settle disputes with companies and warns about potentially bad-faith actors, has given the LaVar Ball's Big Baller Brand a failing grade for its interactions with customers.
"BBB files indicate that this business has a pattern of complaints," the organization said on its website's alert and actions section. "Specifically, customer complaints allege that after placing an order they experience a delay of weeks or even months to receive their order. Some consumers are also alleging receiving the incorrect item(s) or not receiving item(s) at all.
"Consumers are also alleging poor customer service as company does not provide a phone number where consumers can contact them and when emailing the company consumers receive a generic email in response or no response at all. On November 8, 2017 BBB notified the business of our concerns and requested their voluntary cooperation in eliminating the pattern of consumer complaints. As of today, the business has not responded to our request."
Big Baller Brand's problems with the Better Business Bureau were first noted by TMZ.
There were 32 complaints filed with the Bureau about the Big Baller Brand -- of those, the company failed to respond to 12 and failed to resolve five. Ten complaints were resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
Among the complaints were problems with delivery issues and incorrect orders when they were delivered.
Another complained that a sweatshirt ordered in October had not been delivered by late December.
On Monday, Ball responded to reports about the Better Business Bureau's issue with his company.
"We honestly thought the Better Business Bureau was out of business. The new BBB stands for the Big Baller Brand," said Ball, according to ESPN reporter Darren Rovell.
Gift of a game
For many years, Ayad Shamsaldin risked his life on a daily basis for a country he had never visited.
He was born in Iraq and he went to high school in Mosul. He learned English and became an interpreter. He knew the challenges the United States military was having in his country, and he wanted to help.
"I kept hearing and seeing there were a lot of incidents when things went very badly because there was a language barrier," said Shamsaldin, 29. "That shouldn't have happened. We could use our skill to prevent that from happening."
For years he worked with the U.S. Army. For years his life was in danger.
"I'd look outside a window of our vehicle and every civilian vehicle that passed by, I thought, 'OK this is the one, this is the one that will blow up,'" he said. "And every one that passes, it was like I was reborn."
Shamsaldin has been reborn since, in other ways. He applied for and received a special immigrant visa and came to the U.S. in 2013. He met another refugee, an Afghan woman named Rana, and they married. And on Sunday, they went to their first football game, courtesy of Jacksonville Jaguars team owner Shad Khan.
The billionaire was once a newcomer to this country as well, arriving at age 16 from Pakistan and washing dishes for $1.20 an hour. Last week, he offered 1,000 tickets to local refugees from around the world and also evacuees from last year's hurricanes. Khan paid for transportation, food and merchandise. Shamsaldin and his wife boarded a school bus at 10 a.m. Sunday and had no idea what to expect.
"I really appreciate what Shad Khan did," he said, "not just for us but for everyone. It's my first time ever in a football stadium."
SPORTS TRIVIA
Jacksonville's 10-3 victory over Buffalo on Sunday was the lowest-scoring playoff games since which game?
ANSWER
The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the New England Patriots 7-6 on Jan. 3, 1998, in the AFC divisional round.
Sports on 01/09/2018