Trump Lied About UCLA Players and China

• Steve
• March 5, 2018
• 0 Comment
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Looks like someone owes LaVar Ball an apology, and it should probably start with me.  Let me explain before I get to my public groveling.

Back in November LiAngelo Ball and two other teammates were caught shoplifting in stores in China.  This sparked somewhat of an international media frenzy that eventually drew the attention of President Trump who was in China at the time for diplomatic purposes.

Trump claimed that he was the reason the players were released and on their way back to the United States.  He also wanted praise and thanks from LaVar Ball, which Ball would not give.  At the time Ball stated in an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, he had “people on the ground” working on it, and he would thank Trump if Trump had helped, but he claimed Trump didn’t do anything to help, so thanks was coming.

Ball’s statements lead to a somewhat epic twitter battle between the two, and nothing was really settled.  Many criticized Ball for not thanking the President, but now we know that the President’s claims were inaccurate at best a flat our lie at worst.

So based off the new information I have to say I owe LaVar Ball an apology for not really believing him when he said he had people already working on it.  While I didn’t think he should bow down and thank Trump, I didn’t necessarily have a clear idea on how this was getting resolved.  Mr. Ball please accept my apology, and President Trump, please stop lying to the American people about inconsequential happenings… actually just stop lying to the American people in general.

President Donald Trump wasn’t entirely truthful about saving three UCLA basketball players stranded in China for shoplifting, according to a new ESPN report.

Twelve hours after being arrested for stealing sunglasses and beaded bracelets at Louis Vuitton and two other stores in Hangzhou, China, UCLA freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were released on bail with their passports withheld after returning the items, according to ESPN’s Arash Markazi. They were free to do as they please in the city as the situation was being resolved by UCLA And Pac-12 officials, with help from Alibaba chairman Tsai and the Federation University Sports China.

Two days later, on Friday, Nov. 10, the shoplifting charges against Ball, Hill and Riley were dropped, the bail was returned, and their passports were released on one condition, the report said. The players, now embroiled in reports of an international incident, were not permitted to leave for Los Angeles until Tuesday, a week after their arrest and three days after their UCLA teammates returned home.

“It was important for [Chinese authorities] that the players were left back for a couple of days after the rest of the team flew home,” a UCLA source told ESPN. “We agreed not to say anything and not comment until they returned home. They wanted there to be some kind of punishment and avoid the perception that they got off easy. Their flights were switched from Saturday night to Tuesday night, so they were going back home 72 hours after the rest of the team. So, it wasn’t like we found out Tuesday morning they were coming home that day. We knew. That was already the plan Friday morning.”

On Wednesday, Nov. 15, as the three players prepared to make their first public statements since the incident became global news, Trump, as he is wont to do, took to Twitter to make it about Trump:

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