UCLA announced Wednesday it has indefinitely suspended LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hall from the men’s basketball team after the three freshman players were arrested last week in China for shoplifting from three stores, creating an international incident in which President Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, eventually got involved.
UCLA Coach Steve Alford announced the suspension at what the school billed as a news conference, but in reality was a series of statements from all three players, as well as Alford and Athletic Director Dan Guerrero. None of the five men took questions from the more than 50 reporters in attendance. Alford said that during the suspension, which is indefinite because the school is currently going through its legal process with the three students, they will not participate in basketball workouts or practices, will not travel with the team and will not dress for home games.
“These men are going to have to prove, through their words and actions, that this isn’t who they are, and that they will not let their identity be defined by this incident,” Alford said. “I know [LiAngelo], Cody and Jalen well, and I am confident they have already begun to use this experience as a life lesson. They are going to have to regain the trust of this athletic department, of this university, and because this was such a high-profile international matter, that of the general public.
“Trust is earned. It isn’t just given. These three young men will remain suspended indefinitely from our program as we work through the review process with the university’s office of student conduct. During that indefinite suspension, they will not travel with the team, nor will they suit up for home games. At some point they may be permitted to join team workouts, practices and meetings, but that timeline is yet to be determined.
“They will have to earn their way back.… My expectation is they will work hard to demonstrate why they deserve to be part of this program.”
In the wake of Trump’s tweet Wednesday morning asking if he would be thanked for his intervention in the case — Trump appealed to Xi on the students’ behalf — Alford, Guerrero and the three players thanked Trump, as well as the rest of the U.S. government, for their help, as well the Chinese police and government for treating the students well.
Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 15, 2017
The news conference began with all three players — first Riley, followed by Ball and Hall — giving short, similar statements expressing their remorse for the matter. All three admitted to stealing from the stores and made a commitment to try to make things right in the future.
“I’d like to start off by saying sorry for stealing from the stores in China,” said Ball, the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball. “I didn’t exercise my best judgment, and I was wrong for that.”
Among those insisting that the trio be suspended for the entire season was Los Angeles Times columnist Bill Plaschke, who wrote Tuesday: “If the three students had any sort of involvement in something so appallingly entitled and dumb while on a school trip to a foreign country, UCLA’s next move should be clear. School authorities should say welcome home, and see you next season.”
The three Bruins were reportedly accused of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store adjacent to a hotel where the team was staying in Hangzhou, as part of a week-long trip that involved playing a game in Shanghai against Georgia Tech. Ball, Hill and Riley were released on bail in time for the game, but they were benched by Alford, and now that they are back in Los Angeles, it remains to be seen when they will be allowed to play.
During halftime of a nationally televised game Tuesday between No. 1 Duke and No. 2 Michigan State, ESPN’s Jay Williams disagreed with fellow analyst Seth Greenberg’s vehement assertion that the three players should sit out the season. After Williams said they should be suspended for “a couple of games,” adding, “We’re talking about kids,” Greenberg exclaimed: “I don’t care about ‘kids’! You’re taking your team to another country, a different culture; they steal things in three different stores, allegedly. To me, that’s egregious.”
“They should not be able to play this year. This is an embarrassment,” Greenberg said.
Jay Williams thinks the UCLA shoplifting trio should be suspended a couple of games, Seth Greenberg thin https://t.co/vmhhfdha5u
— Matt Clapp (@Matt2Clapp) November 15, 2017
Ridiculous — and I like Jay. But not on this one. Full-season suspension or outright expulsion, one or the other.
— Pat Forde (@YahooForde) November 15, 2017
The arrest of the players coincided with a trip to Asia by Trump, who added an unexpected item to his agenda when he asked Xi to help resolve their case.
“The basketball players, by the way — I know a lot of people are asking — I will tell you, when I heard about it two days ago, I had a great conversation with President Xi,” Trump said Tuesday while aboard Air Force One in Manila. “What they did was unfortunate. You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences. [The Chinese] do not play games.”
[UCLA players head home from China after arrest on shoplifting charges]
In his Wednesday tweet, Trump exaggerated the punishment the players were facing. According to a blog that specializes in decoding the Chinese criminal justice system, the players could have received prison sentences of anywhere between one and four years under the worst-case scenario, punishment that likely would have been mitigated by the players’ ages and the fact that they appeared to be cooperating with authorities.
It’s not clear what terms were negotiated to bring the players back, but it’s apparent that they received relatively minimal punishments from China. Now it’s up to UCLA, possibly with some input from the Pac-12 Conference, to determine how the three freshmen should atone for what is a very embarrassing incident for the school.
“I want to be clear that we take seriously any violations of the law,” UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement. “In this particular case, both Athletics and the Office of Student Conduct will review this incident and guide any action with respect to the involved students. Such proceedings are confidential, which limits the specific information that can be shared.”
The 23rd-ranked Bruins have their home opener Wednesday. On Tuesday evening, the players made their way through a media scrum after landing at Los Angeles International Airport.
UCLA basketball players swarmed by reporters as they return to Los Angeles after spending a week under house arrest in China amid shoplifting allegations. https://t.co/RXAscxPWnPpic.twitter.com/OyQRGiYaJm
— ABC News (@ABC) November 15, 2017
Hanson Wang, a columnist for UCLA’s student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, called Sunday for his school to “lay down the hammer” in disciplining the trio. Citing his grandfather’s firsthand, frustrating experience with the Chinese legal system, Wang wrote that UCLA “should suspend the three players for the entire year and possibly more.”
“These players were responsible for representing UCLA and the country during their time abroad, and they failed to meet even the most basic standards of law-abiding citizens,” Wang wrote. “UCLA must hold them accountable and send the message that no player — or players — can be let off the hook for violating foreign laws and making a fool out of the school, the Pac-12 and the U.S.”
However, some have pointed out that UCLA officials might be concerned with how well lengthy suspensions may sit with LaVar Ball, LiAngelo’s father, who was with the Bruins in China when the arrests occurred and said of them, “It ain’t that big of a deal.” LaVar Ball’s oldest son, Lonzo, starred for the Bruins last season before being drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Lakers, and his highly touted youngest son, 16-year-old LaMelo, has already been ticketed to follow in his brothers’ footsteps and play for UCLA.
“UCLA officials now have the delicate task of determining a suitable punishment,” wrote USA Today’s Nancy Armour on Tuesday. “And by suitable, I mean one that won’t incur the wrath of Ball’s father, LaVar. Or prompt him to yank another son out of school.”
Read more from The Post:
Bill Walton apologizes ‘on behalf of the human race’ over UCLA shoplifting in China
Papa John’s apologizes for blaming low earnings on NFL players’ protests
Protesting athletes are ‘models of American patriotism,’ says Pistons Coach Stan Van Gundy
Veteran sportswriter uses ‘n*****’ while commenting on LeBron James-Knicks scuffle
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