Music

Lil Wayne fought a referee at an anti-violence charity basketball game

by Richard Howard

Well, we’ll say one thing for Lil Wayne – at least he’s consistent.

The New Orleans rapper has been courting controversy for so long that at this point most of the headlines kind of fade into a general ‘Lil Wayne something-something-altercation something-something-coedine’ haze that you often just gloss over. However, this last one manages to stand out because it’s so damn ridiculous. Weezy was coaching his Young Money basketball team as they played a friendly charity game against St. Louis rapper/promoter Loose Cannon Slim’s contingent in the latter’s home city when, apparently, Lil Wayne was angered by one too many unfavorable calls against his team. According to witnesses, he went after the referee with reckless abandon, some claiming that the rapper even spat on the official. This video of the incident’s aftermath shows Weezy being restrained by his team and the referee high tailing it off the court.

So while it’s clearly bad form to nearly start a brawl at any charity event, here’s the delicious irony: proceeds of the game were headed to the Put Down The Pistol initiative, a St. Louis anti-gun violence program. Some smart-aleck commenters have chosen to point out that Lil Wayne didn’t use a gun and thus was actually displaying how to solve one’s disputes without weaponry. (Okay, that’s sort of funny.) On the bright side for the rapper’s fans, this one didn’t result in an arrest – so Weezy’s going to be free to perform his inevitable next trick. Which will probably be, I dunno, setting up a sizzurp stand at an anti-drug rally.