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U.C.L.A. Players Returning Home After Trump Asks Xi for Help U.C.L.A. Players Returning Home After Trump Asks Xi for Help
(about 3 hours later)
MANILA — Three U.C.L.A. basketball players who had been detained in China on suspicion of shoplifting were on their way back to Los Angeles on Tuesday after President Trump appealed to President Xi Jinping of China on their behalf. MANILA — The details remain hazy, but the stakes could not have been higher.
The players were arrested last week in Hangzhou, China, and accused of stealing designer sunglasses at a shopping mall. Three American college basketball players — representing a storied sports program visiting China for an early-season game sponsored by one of China’s largest companies — were arrested on Nov. 8, accused of stealing designer sunglasses at a Louis Vuitton store.
By Monday, what had begun as a simple accusation of celebrity shoplifting threatened to escalate into a full-blown international incident just as President Trump arrived in China on a 12-day mission through Asia, his first foreign trip to the region.
In addition to Mr. Trump, the weeklong diplomatic drama included the players themselves, who remained detained at their hotel in the provincial city of Hangzhou; U.C.L.A., an elite American university; and the Chinese retail giant Alibaba, which sponsored the team’s visit.
In other cases, detained Americans have become geopolitical pawns, often trapped in a kind of legal limbo for months or years.
In a few instances, the outcome has been horrific, as in the case of Otto Warmbier, an American student in North Korea who was tortured and later died after being detained on charges that he tried to steal a poster from his hotel.
But just as concern deepened about the fate of the three young athletes in China, their detention abruptly ended, aided, it seems, by Mr. Trump’s direct intervention with the country’s president, Xi Jinping. On Tuesday, the three players, including the star freshman LiAngelo Ball, the brother of the N.B.A. rookie Lonzo Ball, were allowed to leave their hotel and board a flight back to California.
“The three U.C.L.A. men’s basketball student-athletes involved in the incident with authorities in Hangzhou, China, are on a flight back home to Los Angeles,” the Pac-12, the athletics conference to which the university belongs, said in a statement, adding that “the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Chinese authorities.”“The three U.C.L.A. men’s basketball student-athletes involved in the incident with authorities in Hangzhou, China, are on a flight back home to Los Angeles,” the Pac-12, the athletics conference to which the university belongs, said in a statement, adding that “the matter has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Chinese authorities.”
“We want to thank the president, the White House and the U.S. State Department for their efforts towards resolution,” the statement said, after the release of the players from the University of California, Los Angeles. “We want to thank the president, the White House and the U.S. State Department for their efforts towards resolution,” the statement said.
Earlier, Mr. Trump told reporters as he was leaving the Philippines after a 12-day trip to Asia that “I had a great conversation with President Xi.” American officials provided few details of what those efforts were. Representatives for the White House and the National Security Council did not respond to questions about any potential diplomatic wrangling with their Chinese counterparts. The State Department declined to comment because of “privacy concerns,” and referred all questions to the Pac-12.
“What they did was unfortunate,” Mr. Trump had said of the players. “You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences. They do not play games.” But Mr. Trump himself offered some hints about his discussions with the Chinese leader before the issue was resolved.
Mr. Trump had said that he hoped the Chinese president would help the players: LiAngelo Ball, a freshman guard; and Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, both freshman forwards. He emphasized that it was a “very, very rough situation, with what happened to them.” “I will tell you, when I heard about it two days ago, I had a great conversation with President Xi,” Mr. Trump told reporters during a brief conversation Tuesday as he returned home aboard Air Force One. “He was terrific, and they’re working on it right now. And hopefully everything is going to work out.”
In China, where the justice system has a very high conviction rate, theft can bring punishment ranging from a few days to years in prison. In China, where the justice system has a very high conviction rate, theft can bring punishment ranging from a few days to years in prison. Mr. Trump called the alleged actions of the basketball players “unfortunate,” and grimly noted the toughness of the Chinese judicial system.
The three players were arrested this past Tuesday, accused of shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton store next to their hotel in Hangzhou, in eastern China, where they were planning to play in a tournament. They were released on bail last Wednesday but were reportedly confined to the hotel. (Playing without the three freshmen, U.C.L.A. defeated Georgia Tech, 63-60, in Shanghai on Friday.) “You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences,” the president told reporters. “They do not play games.”
Mr. Trump has made much of his personal rapport with Mr. Xi, who hosted a lavish state visit last week for the president in Beijing. The two leaders met again at an economic summit meeting on Sunday in Vietnam, where Mr. Trump raised the case. Mr. Trump has made much of his personal rapport with Mr. Xi, who hosted a lavish state visit last week for the president in Beijing. The two leaders met again at an economic summit meeting on Sunday in Vietnam, where Mr. Trump raised the case of the detained basketball players.
“He’s been terrific,” the president said. “President Xi has been terrific on that subject.”“He’s been terrific,” the president said. “President Xi has been terrific on that subject.”
Mr. Trump, who said he had learned of the case only at the weekend, said he hoped the players would soon be able to return to the United States. Whatever his conversations about the incident were with the Chinese leader, Mr. Trump was uncharacteristically quiet about them until his overseas trip was winding down. He did not tweet about the case as the players sat trapped in their rooms. American officials did not put out any statements about the case.
The highest-profile of the three who had been detained was Mr. Ball, the middle of the three “Ball Brothers.” The eldest, Lonzo, plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, and the youngest, LaMelo, is a high schooler who has committed to play at U.C.L.A. Their father, LaVar, has become a public figure, and has started a sports-apparel company, Big Baller Brand. Facebook has been filming a reality series focusing on them, “Ball in the Family.” But the warm presidential relationship appeared to pay off with the release of Ball a freshman guard; and Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, both freshman forwards. Mr. Trump emphasized that it was a “very, very rough situation, with what happened to them.”
The three players were arrested this past Tuesday, accused of shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton store next to their hotel in Hangzhou, in eastern China, where they were planning to play in a tournament. They were released on bail last Wednesday but were reportedly confined to the hotel. (Playing without the three freshmen, U.C.L.A. defeated Georgia Tech, 63-60, in Shanghai on Friday.)
The highest-profile of the three who had been detained was Ball, the middle of three sons in a basketball-playing family so well known that it has its own reality show on Facebook, “Ball in the Family.” The eldest brother, Lonzo, plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, and the youngest, LaMelo, is a high schooler who has committed to play at U.C.L.A. Their father, LaVar, has become a public figure, and has started a sports-apparel company, Big Baller Brand, to market both his sons and the family name.
The U.C.L.A. team’s trip to China had been seen as a way to raise the profile of the university in that country, possibly attracting students who have well-to-do parents and who want to study abroad. Many American universities in recent years have increasingly relied on tuition payments from foreign students.The U.C.L.A. team’s trip to China had been seen as a way to raise the profile of the university in that country, possibly attracting students who have well-to-do parents and who want to study abroad. Many American universities in recent years have increasingly relied on tuition payments from foreign students.
The arrests of the three young men could have derailed efforts to bridge the cultural divide. Hours before their release, Mr. Trump told reporters that the incident “was not something that should have happened.”
But even then the president seemed to know something positive might be in the works. Asked if he expected to see the basketball players coming home soon, he answered: “I hope so. I hope so.”
Just hours later, they were on a plane, too.