President Donald Trump asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help settle the case of the three UCLA men’s basketball players arrested last week in Hangzhou, China, the Washington Post reported Monday morning.
Xi assured Trump that the players would be treated fairly and expeditiously, the Post reported, after the U.S. president brought up the topic in a Saturday meeting with Xi in Beijing.
The three Bruins – freshman guard LiAngelo Ball, and freshman forwards Cody Riley and Jalen Hill – were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of stealing sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store adjacent to the team’s hotel, ESPN reported.
Ball, Riley and Hill were released on bail Wednesday but are reportedly confined to their hotel in Hangzhou.
ESPN’s Arash Markazi reported there is surveillance footage of the players shoplifting from Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Salvatore Ferragamo stores, though the video itself has not yet been made public.
UCLA has declined to comment beyond its initial statement released Wednesday, in which the university said it was aware of a situation involving UCLA student-athletes in Hangzhou and was cooperating fully with local authorities.
Coach Steve Alford also declined to comment on the arrests after UCLA’s 63-60 victory over Georgia Tech in Shanghai this weekend.
