BBB charging media $3,500 to film LaMelo, SPIRE at tournament

Any media outlets interested in getting video footage of LaMelo Ball and his SPIRE Institute teammates at the "Big Baller Beatdown" this weekend will have to pay for it.

Adam Zagoria of the New York Times and SportsNet New York shared an email he received informing outlets they "will have to present $3,500 at the gate as per rules of the Big Baller Brand media credential" to film either of SPIRE's two games.

The tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday at Marshall County High School in Benton, Ky.

Meanwhile, SPIRE was slated to participate in the Hoophall Classic at the Naismith Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass, this week, but was replaced after an outside consultant reportedly requested a $10,000 appearance fee. The consultant was identified by Zagoria as Ball Sports Group managing director Alan Foster.