LiAngelo Ball: UCLA Pressured Me Thank Trump After Release From Chinese Jail

Former UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball now says his decision to thank President Trump for helping win his release from a Chinese jail was forced on him by the university.

Ball and two other players -- who had been arrested for shoplifting in Hangzhou -- thanked Trump in a Nov. 15 press conference after the president successfully appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to release them from jail.

In an interview on "The Breakfast Club" radio show on Wednesday, Ball said UCLA forced the apology from the players.

"My school wanted to hear it," he recalled. "Before I went up there, it was like, 'You’ve got to thank him.' I just threw him in there real quick right before I gave my speech. ... If they didn’t tell me to do it, it wouldn’t have been in there, to be honest."

He said the school's request came after Trump publicly called out the players on Twitter for not thanking him.

Donald J. Trump

✔@realDonaldTrump

Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!

4:11 PM - Nov 15, 2017

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Ball's father, LaVar, announced last week that LiAngelo would leave UCLA to play professionally in Lithuania along with his younger brother, LaMelo. Their older brother, Lonzo Ball, is in his rookie year with the Lakers after playing one year at UCLA.

After his son's apology, LaVar Ball feuded with Trump, who called on the outspoken CEO of the Big Baller Brand to also express gratitude.

In a contentious interview last month, Ball refused to thank the president

"I don't care and I don't know. If [Trump] said he helped, that's good for his mind," he said. "If you helped, you shouldn't have to say anything."

3 UCLA Basketball Players Arrived US after Being Detained in China for Allegedly shoplifting

Three UCLA basketball players who were arrested in China for allegedly shoplifting while their team was in the country for a tournament last week returned to the U.S. Tuesday.

UCLA Men's Basketball players LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were arrested after being accused of stealing designer sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team’s hotel in Hangzhou. They arrived at Los Angeles International Airport late Tuesday afternoon following a 12-hour flight from Shanghai. The rest of the team flew back last Saturday.

Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott said Tuesday the matter "has been resolved to the satisfaction of the Chinese authorities."

UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball is surrounded by reporters and photographers as he leaves Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles.  (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

President Trump personally asked Chinese leader Xi Jinping to help resolve the case during his visit to Beijing last week, as we confirmed. Scott thanked Trump, the White House and the State Department for their efforts in resolving what he called "the incident with authorities in Hangzhou, China." He indicated UCLA made "significant efforts" on behalf of its three players.

The team was playing their season-opening game against Georgia Tech in Shanghai on Saturday. They won the game 63-60.

It’s unclear if the players would be punished by UCLA or allowed to play in Wednesday night’s home opener against Central Arkansas.

UCLA basketball players Cody Riley (left), LiAngelo Ball (right), and Jalen Hill (background center), are surrounded by the media as they leave the Los Angeles International Airport.  (Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said the school is weighing its options.

“I want to be clear that we take seriously any violations of the law,” he said in a statement. “In this particular case, both Athletics and the Office of Student Conduct will review this incident and guide any action with respect to the involved students. Such proceedings are confidential, which limits the specific information that can be shared.”

The players, along with coach Steve Alford and athletic director Dan Guerrero, will make their first comments about the matter at a campus news conference Wednesday, but won’t take questions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.