LiAngelo Ball and two other UCLA basketball players have been suspended indefinitely after they were arrested for shoplifting in China.
UCLA men’s basketball players LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley, and Jalen Hill were suspended indefinitely from the team on Wednesday.
Last week, the three players were arrested for stealing from a Louis Vuitton store near the team’s hotel in China. They were detained for eight days but were released on bail and have returned to the United States.
LiAngelo Ball apologizes for his actions in China. pic.twitter.com/haendJA8oV
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) November 15, 2017
“They will have to earn their way back,” UCLA coach Steve Alford said during a news conference on Wednesday. “These are good young men who have exercised an inexcusable lapse of judgment, and now they have to live with that.”
All three players apologized for their actions.
“I’d like to start off by saying sorry for stealing from the stores in China,” Ball said, via Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports. “I didn’t exercise my best judgment and I was wrong for that. … I’m a young man, however, it’s not an excuse for making such a stupid decision.”
The players then thanked President Donald Trump for helping them get home. Trump had asked on Twitter if the players were going to thank him for getting them home.
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
Ball and the other players won’t travel with the team, suit up for road games, or practice while the school reviews the situation.
