LaVar Ball (right) sits next to sons LiAngelo (center) and LaMelo (left). Last Tuesday, LiAngelo was arrested in China along with two UCLA teammates and accused of shoplifting from Louis Vuitton
When asked about his thoughts on President Trump’s help in releasing his shoplifting son from jail, LaVar Ball didn’t have much to say.
His son, UCLA basketball player, LiAngelo Ball, and the student’s fellow teammates Jalen Hill and Cody Riley, returned to the Unites States this week after being detained in China for days following a high-end store heist.
LaVar told ESPN, ‘Who?’, after the President’s name was mentioned for his meeting in handle the matter in Beijing with Chinese President, Xi Jinping.
The father added: ‘What was he over there for? Don’t tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out.’
The students were accused of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton outlet near the hotel where the team had been staying and arrested last Tuesday.
The media personality said he was ‘happy with how things were handled’ while dismissing his son’s alleged crime by calling it ‘not a big deal.’
LaVar told the sports station: ‘They try to make a big deal out of nothing sometimes … I’m from L.A. I’ve seen a lot worse things happen than a guy taking some glasses.
‘My son has built up enough character that one bad decision doesn’t define him. Now if you can go back and say when he was 12 years old he was shoplifting and stealing cars and going wild, then that’s a different thing.’
Prior to his dismissal of Trump’s role in his son’s release, the President took to Twitter to address the matter.
He took credit for the boys’ release and said: ‘Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump?’ Trump tweeted. ‘They were headed for 10 years in jail!’
President Donald Trump (L) sits beside China’s President Xi Jinping during a tour of the Forbidden City in Beijing on November 8, 2017. Trump spoke with Jinping in a meeting which helped three UCLA players get released from jail for shoplifting in China
(From left) UCLA freshman LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley, Jalen Hill and Kris Wilkes pose for a picture before flying to China for Friday’s opener against Georgia Tech in Shanghai. Ball, Riley, and Hill were arrested and accused of shoplifting in Hangzhou
The three players thanked Trump for intervening while speaking in a press conference.
The Bruins were preparing to open the season against Georgia Tech in Shanghai at the time the three players were reportedly interrogated and arrested.
All three could could have faced between three and 10 years in prison, Chinese lawyers also confirmed to Yahoo Sports.
LaVar Ball (middle, back), LaMelo Ball (left) and LiAngelo Ball (right) pose for a portrait with Lonzo Ball (seated), who was drafted second overall by the Los Angeles Lakers in June
‘I would say they could be in quite a bit of trouble if they have solid proof that they shoplifted,’ William Nee, a Hong Kong-based researcher of the Chinese court system for Amnesty International, told the website at the time.
According to ESPN, around 20 police officers arrived at the Hyatt Hangzhou at around 8 a.m. on last Tuesday and spoke with players from both UCLA and Georgia Tech about an incident at a nearby Louis Vuitton store.
The players were allegedly kept in a room for hours without being allowed to speak with coaches.
‘They weren’t messing around,’ one source told ESPN. ‘The kids were scared.’
Georgia Tech released its own statement: ‘During the questioning, it was determined that Georgia Tech student-athletes were not involved in the activities being investigated.
‘They have resumed their scheduled activities in advance of Saturday’s season opener versus UCLA in Shanghai.’
UCLA coach Steve Alford declined to talk about the incident outside of announcing his intention to sit all three players.
‘The University came out with a statement, so I won’t have any further comment on this other than in answering that question – those individuals won’t play on Saturday,’ Alford told reporters last Wednesday in Shanghai.
The Hyatt Hangzhou, where UCLA and Georgia Tech players reportedly stayed ahead of Friday’s season opener. According to ESPN the three Bruins players were arrested at the hotel and questioned about the robbery at a nearby Louis Vuitton
LiAngelo Ball (left) and Jalen Hill spending their first day in China last Monday. The UCLA freshmen were expected to dress for Friday’s opener against Georgia Tech in Shanghai, but coach Steve Alford announced at the time neither they nor Cody Riley would play
UCLA practiced in China last Monday ahead of the Friday season opener against Georgia Tech
UCLA freshman teammates Cody Riley (left) and Jalen Hill (right) are two of three Bruins teammates who were arrested for allegedly shoplifting
Hangzhou-based tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd , which sponsors the annual Pac-12 basketball games in China, declined to comment, as did the Hangzhou police.
Considered the lowest-rated recruit of UCLA’s freshman class, LiAngelo was given three out of five stars on ESPN’s college basketball recruiting page, which criticized his lack of lateral quickness and overall defense.
The scouting report did credit LiAngelo with being a good shooter with an improving post game.
Lonzo’s rookie season has been up and down so far. He’s averaging just 8.8 points a game, although he does rank second among all rookies with 6.9 assists a game.
UCLA coach Steve Alford vowed to sit Ball, Hill and Riley for last Friday’s game
While Lonzo currently plays for the 5-5 Lakers, younger brother LaMelo was taken out of Chino Hills High School so he can be made into ‘the best basketball player ever,’ according to father LaVar.
LaVar told The Los Angeles Times in early October that LaMelo, a junior, would leave Chino Hills High School so he would have fewer distractions and better focus.
LaMelo plays on LaVar’s traveling team, Big Baller Brand, which LaVar also coaches.
Last season, LaMelo drew national attention by scoring 92 points in a game for Chino Hills.
LaVar’s Big Baller Brand also makes shoes, ranging in price from $220 to one pair that costs $995.
Lonzo currently has his own signature shoe while LaMelo’s is on its way – the MB1, which costs $395, is available for pre-order and will ship in December.
According to Markazi, the Big Baller Brand will open two pop-up shops in China: one in Shanghai on Friday and another in Hong Kong on November 14.
There is a concern that LaMelo’s shoe deal could affect his eligibility at UCLA.
Like older brother Lonzo and younger brother LaMelo, LiAngelo was a star at Chino Hills High
Lonzo Ball (No. 2) is the oldest of the three Ball brothers and is currently starting for the Lakers