Three players charged with shoplifting, including LiAngelo Ball could remain in China for a week or two.
SHANGHAI — The UCLA basketball team is heading back to Los Angeles without three players arrested on shoplifting charges in China, according to a report.
Citing sources, ESPN says freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were to remain in Hangzhou, China. UCLA won its season-opening game 63-60 over Georgia Tech in Shanghai on Saturday.
The trio was questioned by police about allegedly stealing from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team’s hotel in Hangzhou last week, where the 21st-ranked Bruins visited before leaving for Shanghai.
Citing a source with firsthand knowledge of the investigation, ESPN reports the players could be in Hangzhou for “a week or two” while the situation is resolved. The source told ESPN that there is surveillance footage of the players shoplifting from three stores inside a high-end retail center.
Bruins Coach Steve Alford declined to discuss the matter after the team’s victory. UCLA Chancellor Gene Block and athletic director Dan Guerrero, along with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, have been traveling with the team, but only Scott has issued any statements.
“It has provided a real distraction and unwanted publicity, which distracts from what overall has been a tremendous experience and a tremendous week for the UCLA and Georgia Tech students,” Scott said before the game. “We’ve had a chance to apologize for the unwelcome attention it has brought. There’s nothing new. We’re monitoring the situation and staying in close contact with the students, and we hope the situation resolves itself soon.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
