President Trump tweets arrested UCLA players 'were headed for 10 years in jail'

Show Caption Hide Caption Three UCLA players return from China SportsPulse: President Trump reportedly helped to facilitate the release of three UCLA players who were arrested in China for shoplifting, including Lavar Ball's son, LiAngelo Ball.

President Trump posted on Twitter on Wednesday that the three UCLA basketball players who were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting in China were facing 10 years in prison.

"Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump?" Trump tweeted. "They were headed for 10 years in jail!"

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, the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, and two teammates returned to the United States on Tuesday after spending more than a week in a hotel in Hangzhou, China. Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were accused of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store near their hotel, according to ESPN, during the team's trip to China to play Georgia Tech.

As a UCLA Bruin, thanks @realDonaldTrump! While I have you, did you know that UCLA has a large undocumented student population? Our campus is great. Come to a game sometime 😂 https://t.co/5pnusfzBlT — Kal Penn (@kalpenn) November 15, 2017

President Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One in Manila on Tuesday that he had spoken with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, about the three UCLA players during his five-nation trip through Asia. The President's chief of staff, John Kelly, told The New York Times on Tuesday that the players had been charged with the Chinese equivalent of felonies due to the high cost of the goods they had allegedly stolen.

"Our president said to Xi, ‘Do you know anything about these knuckleheads that got caught allegedly stealing?'" Kelly told the newspaper.

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Ball, Hill, Riley, UCLA coach Steve Alford and athletic director Dan Guerrero are scheduled to address the media at approximately 2 p.m. ET today.

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

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