Three UCLA players indefinitely suspended after shoplifting incident in China

Josh Peter | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption UCLA players apologize for shoplifting, thank Trump Three UCLA basketball players have been suspended indefinitely following their shoplifting incident in China. The players apologized and thanked President Trump for his role in helping them return to the U.S.

LOS ANGELES — LiAngelo Ball and two other members of UCLA’s basketball team have been suspended indefinitely after they shoplifted in China in an incident that drew international attention.

UCLA coach Steve Alford made the announcement after three players acknowledged during a news conference that they shoplifted during the Nov. 6 incident.



“They will have to earn their way back,’’ Alford said.



Ball, younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, along with Jalen Hill and Cody Riley — all freshmen — were detained for allegedly shoplifting sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store in China before UCLA’s game against Georgia Tech.



“I would like to start off to say sorry for stealing from stores in China,’’ Ball said, reading from a statement. “I didn’t exercise my best judgment, and I’m sorry for that.’’



Ball and the two other players thanked, among others, President Trump and the U.S. government for helping secure their release. The Chinese government dropped the criminal charges.



Dan Guerrero, UCLA’s athletic director, said the players stole from three stores during the incident Nov. 6 that led to the players’ arrest the following day. They were released after being detained for a week and returned to Los Angeles Tuesday night.



“These are good young men who have exercised an inexcusable lapse of judgment,’’ Alford said. “Now they have to live with it.’’



After listening to his players take responsibility for the shoplifting and apologize while reading from individual statements at the news conferences, Alford also said, “These young men are going to have to prove their words through actions, that this is not who they are.’’



Ball is the son of gregarious and controversial LaVar Ball, who after the players were detained said of the incident, "ain't that big a deal.'' But LiAngelo's subdued expression and the tone of the news conference suggested otherwise.



“I’m a young man,’’ he said. “However, it’s not an excuse for making a really stupid decision. … I’m 100% sure I’m not going to make a bad decision like this again.



“My family raised me to be a better than that, and I’m going to make myself a better person.’’

Hill said: "What I did was stupid. There's no other way to put it.''

Reporters were not given the opportunity to ask questions.

UCLA, which beat Georgia Tech in China in its season opener, plays Wednesday night against Central Arkansas. It is unclear whether the three players will sit on the team bench.



