U.C.L.A. Suspends 3 Players; They Admitted to Shoplifting in China
Earlier Wednesday, President Trump tweeted about his intervention, saying: “Do you
think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump?
They were headed for 10 years in jail!”
Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump?
“To President Trump and the United States government, thank you for taking time to intervene on our behalf,” Riley said.
The players, who returned to the United States on Tuesday after President Trump interceded
with President Xi Jinping of China, apologized for their actions at a news conference.
men’s basketball players who were entangled in an international incident in China
that compelled President Trump to get involved admitted on Wednesday that they had shoplifted in Hangzhou.
Ball, the highest-profile player involved, said: “I’d like to start off by saying sorry for stealing from the stores in China.
“They will have to earn their way back,” Coach Steve Alford said of LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill.
I’m a young man, but it’s not an excuse for making a really stupid decision.”
The team said the players had stolen from three stores, not just one as originally reported.
“These are good young men who exercised an inexcusable lapse of judgment,” Alford said.