LOS ANGELES — Three UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting in China spoke Tuesday for the first time since returning home, apologizing for their behavior overseas and thanking the government of China and President Donald Trump for releasing them.
Ealier Tuesday, Trump tweeted:
“Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!” Trump said on Twitter.
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
LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were allowed to leave China after the situation was “resolved to the satisfaction of the Chinese authorities,” said Larry Scott, commissioner of the Pacific-12 athletic conference, of which UCLA is a member.
Ball — a brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball — Riley and Hill are scheduled to speak to reporters at UCLA on Wednesday morning, along with UCLA head coach Steve Alford and athletic director Dan Guerrero, the school said.
The three were arrested last week while their team was in the city of Hangzhou ahead of the squad’s season opener in Shanghai. They were questioned on suspicion of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store near their hotel.
The trio had stayed at the hotel, reportedly awaiting next steps in their case, while their teammates went to Shanghai, where UCLA defeated Georgia Tech 63-60 on Saturday. They stayed in China as their team returned to the United States over the weekend.
Scott did not say how the case was resolved. A conviction of grand larceny in China could result in years of prison. But Trump said Tuesday that he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help.