LaMelo Ball has closed one of the strangest legal chapters of his career. The Charlotte Hornets guard settled a $3.75 million lawsuit that accused him of injuring a young fan with his car, ending the case just days before a jury would have heard it. Court records show both sides reached a consent order, and the matter came off the trial calendar for the week of June 15.
The terms stayed private, which is normal since settlement agreements rarely get filed with the court. The court had not entered a formal dismissal as of the latest filing. A settlement is not an admission of fault, and Ball had denied the allegations from the start.
What the lawsuit claimed
The case traced back to Oct. 7, 2023. That day the Hornets hosted a free fan event called Purple and Teal Day at the Hive at Spectrum Center. According to the complaint, Tamaria McRae and her son waited near the arena, hoping the boy could get an autograph from Ball, his favorite player.
The suit said Ball’s car stopped at a traffic light on North Caldwell Street as fans crowded around it. It then accused him of accelerating suddenly and recklessly, striking the boy and hurting his foot. McRae described the injuries as severe and possibly permanent, and she pointed to her own financial and emotional strain. She first sought a smaller sum before amending her demand to $3.75 million. Ball denied any wrongdoing throughout.
The detail the headlines skip
One fact complicates the simplest telling. The complaint described severe and possibly lifelong harm, yet a police report from that day told a milder story. That report, obtained by CNN, listed the injuries to the 12-year-old as minor and noted bruises and scratches. Doctors treated the boy at a local hospital and released him. That gap between the police account and the civil claim is exactly the sort of dispute a trial would have tested.
It is also worth remembering that the suit named the Hornets alongside Ball at first. A judge later dismissed the team, which left Ball as the lone defendant going into the deal.
How the settlement came together
The lawsuit landed in Mecklenburg County in May 2024 and slowly built toward a jury trial. Ball’s lawyers had asked the court to split the case into two phases, taking up fault first and money second. That approach is common, since it keeps blame and dollar figures from bleeding into each other.
Now that trial will not happen. With the consent order signed, the case left the June 15 calendar, and any payment or other terms remain sealed by the two sides.
Where things stand for Ball
The resolution clears a nagging distraction as Ball turns toward the offseason. The 24-year-old, drafted third overall in 2020, won Rookie of the Year in 2021 and made his first All-Star team the next year. He remains the face of the franchise. This past season he averaged 20.1 points, 7.1 assists and 4.8 rebounds, and Charlotte caught fire in the second half before its run ended in the Play-In Tournament. For now the legal fight is over, and the public may never learn how much, if anything, changed hands.
SOURCE: CNN
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