Trump suggests UCLA basketball players released from China owe him thanks

Reporting from Washington — President Trump suggested Wednesday that three UCLA players accused of shoplifting in China owed him public thanks after their release from confinement and return home.

“Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!” the president tweeted early Wednesday, hours after he returned from a 12-day Asia trip.

Trump said Tuesday that he had spoken to Chinese President Xi Jinping about the three athletes, who were taken into custody while in Hangzhou for a game against Georgia Tech.

Their teammates left China after the game, but freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were held until Tuesday, when they boarded a plane in Shanghai. When they arrived in Los Angeles, the three ignored reporters’ questions. They planned to speak at a news conference Wednesday.

The players have not explained the circumstances of their confinement, but Trump on Tuesday said that “what they did was unfortunate.”

“You know, you’re talking about very long prison sentences,” he said, then added of the Chinese: “They do not play games.”

After the players’ release, Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott thanked Trump and administration officials for working to free the athletes.

“We are all very pleased that these young men have been allowed to return home to their families and university,” Scott said.

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said the school is weighing how to respond to the incident.

“Both Athletics and the Office of Student Conduct will review this incident and guide any action with respect to the involved students,” he said in a statement, noting that the proceedings would be confidential.