Family sues LaMelo Ball after he allegedly drove over 11-year-old son's foot and broke it at a fan event

A family has filed a lawsuit against Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball and the team alleging that he ran over their 11-year-old son's foot with his car at a fan event last fall, according to WSOC-TV.

Tamaira McRae was with her son, Angell Joseph, at a Hornets fan event at the Spectrum Center in October. As the event was ending, fans started going up to players as they left the arena and drove away.

Joseph, McRae said, went up to Ball and asked him for his autograph.

“He was like, ’LaMelo I love you. I love you, sign my … give me your autograph. Can you sign it for me?’” she told WSCO-TV.

Ball didn’t sign anything for Joseph, and instead drove off in his vehicle. As he did so, McRae said, Ball drove over Joseph’s foot and broke it. Further specifics on his injury aren't known, but McRae said the recovery process for both her and her son was incredibly difficult to deal with.

"For a while, I couldn't even recognize who my child was because, like depression, not being able to go outside and play," she said. "When you see your children hurt, it hurts you. It's been rough. It's been real rough. I mean, like I'm a strong person. This broke me."

Their attorney, Cameron DeBrun, told WSOC-TV that they would have filed a claim with Ball’s insurance but the police report from the incident was missing key information. That’s part of what led them to the lawsuit. They also included the Hornets in the lawsuit, as the incident took place at their annual "Purple and Teal Day" event.

Ball appeared in just 22 games for the Hornets last season, his fourth with the franchise, due to an ankle injury. He still averaged a career-high 23.9 points and eight assists per game. The 22-year-old will enter the first year of a five-year, $204 million contract extension with the team this fall.