3 UCLA basketball players suspended after theft in China

Three UCLA basketball players detained for shoplifting at three high-end stores in China publicly apologized Wednesday before coach Steve Alford announced they were being suspended indefinitely.

UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball is surrounded by the media as he leaves Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley won't be allowed to suit up, practice or travel with the team while the university continues to sort out the circumstances of last week's incident in Hangzhou, China, Alford said during a news conference at Pauley Pavilion.

"These are good young men who have exercised an inexcusable lapse of judgment and now they have to live with that," Alford said. "They let a lot people down in the process."

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 on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

"I'm confident that they have already begun to use this experience as a life lesson," he added.

Ball, Hill and Riley took turns confessing to the theft and apologizing while also thanking President Donald Trump for intervening on their behalf with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The players had returned to Los Angeles on Tuesday after Chinese authorities withdrew the charges against them.

UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball gets into a van at Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2017, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

"I'm sorry for stealing from the stores in China," said Ball, the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball, who played last season at UCLA.

"I've learned my lesson from this big mistake and I'm a hundred percent sure I'll never make a mistake like this again. It's going to make me a better person from here on out."

Flanked by Cody Riley, left, and Jalen Hill, third from left, UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball reads his statement as head coach Steve Alford listens during a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

When it was his turn, Hill said, "I'm sorry for shoplifting. What I did was stupid. I don't want to be known for this dumb mistake."

"I hope you can forgive my stupid, childish actions," he added.

Riley was the first to speak and he thanked the Pac-12 Conference, several UCLA administrators and his teammates.

UCLA NCAA college basketball players Cody Riley, from left, LiAngelo Ball and Jalen Hill leave after giving their statements during a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

"You guys mean so much to me," Riley said of his teammates. "I'm sorry for letting you down."

Athletic director Dan Guerrero also spoke at the news conference, but no one took questions from a large group of media.

Alford didn't specify what the indefinite suspensions mean, saying only that the three players would have to earn their way back onto the team.

Flanked by teammates Cody Riley, left, and Jalen Hill, UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball reads his statement during a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

He said at some point, the trio may be permitted to join team workouts, meetings and practices, but that timeline has yet to be decided.

"We will come to a resolution in short order," Guerrero said.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump tweeted: "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!"

UCLA head coach Steve Alford, right, listens as Jalen Hill reads his statement during a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

All three players did.

"I'd like to thank President Trump and the United States government for the help that they provided us as well," Ball said.

The players were detained in Hangzhou for questioning following allegations of shoplifting last week before the Bruins beat Georgia Tech in their season-opening game in Shanghai. The rest of the UCLA team returned home Saturday.

UCLA head coach Steve Alford gives his statement during a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles. Three UCLA NCAA college basketball players accused of shoplifting in China admitted to the crime and apologized before coach Steve Alford announced they were being suspended indefinitely. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Guerrero said the incident occurred when the team was given 90 minutes of free time on Nov. 6 in Hangzhou.

"Those three visited several stores, took items from three stores and returned to the hotel," he said, without revealing the items taken or their value.

The next day, Guerrero said, police arrived at the hotel shared by UCLA and Georgia Tech and interviewed both teams in an attempt to identify the culprits. Police searched the players' personal belongings and the team bus before identifying Ball, Hill and Riley, he said.

UCLA NCAA college basketball player Cody Riley reads his statement during a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles.  (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

No one from Georgia Tech was implicated.

Guerrero said the UCLA trio was taken to a police station for questioning, and Alford arrived later, along with basketball administrator Chris Carlson. Guerrero found out while flying to Shanghai.

After being arrested, the players remained in custody for questioning and were released on $2,220 bail on Nov. 8. Guerrero said they had to give up their passports and agree to travel restrictions.

UCLA NCAA college basketball player Jalen Hill reads his statement during a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Upon their release, they remained in a hotel at UCLA's insistence, not the local police's, with Carlson and another administrator supervising them, Guerrero said.

He said the bail money was refunded by police. Once the charges were withdrawn, the trio acknowledged breaking the law, he said.

Guerrero said UCLA provided the resources to help the players and the university is working to see who is responsible for costs and any NCAA implications.

Police told the players they could leave the country on Tuesday and they boarded a plane later that day.

UCLA NCAA college basketball player LiAngelo Ball attends a news conference at UCLA Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2017, in Los Angeles. Three UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting in China admitted to the crime and apologized before coach Steve Alford announced they were being suspended indefinitely. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Guerrero said Alford reminded his team of the expectations for good behavior before they left on the trip and while they were in China.

UCLA traveled to China as part of the Pac-12's global initiative that seeks to popularize the league's athletic programs and universities overseas. The China Game is in its third year, and while the scandal was developing the league announced that California and Yale will play in next year's edition.

The No. 23 Bruins host Central Arkansas in their home opener on Wednesday night.

SHANGHAI (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken opened his first full day of meetings in China on Thursday by talking with local government officials in Shanghai.

Blinken discussed local and regional issues with Chen Jining, the Chinese Communist Party Secretary of Shanghai. He also planned to speak to students and business leaders before flying to Beijing for what are expected to be contentious talks with national officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Blinken arrived in Shanghai on Wednesday shortly before President Joe Biden signed a $95 billion foreign aid package that has several elements likely to anger the Chinese, including $8 billion to counter China’s growing aggressiveness toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea. It also seeks to force TikTok’s China-based parent company to sell the social media platform.

China has railed against U.S. assistance to Taiwan, the self-governing island that it regards as a renegade province, and immediately condemned the move as a dangerous provocation. It also strongly opposes efforts to force TikTok’s sale.

Still, the fact that Blinken made the trip — shortly after a conversation between Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping, a similar visit to China by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and a call between the U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs — is a sign the two sides are at least willing to discuss their differences.

“I think it’s important to underscore the value — in fact, the necessity — of direct engagement, of speaking to each other, laying out our differences, which are real, seeking to work through them,” Blinken told Chen.

“We have an obligation for our people, indeed an obligation to the world, to manage the relationship between our two countries responsibly,” he said. “That is the obligation we have, and one that we take very seriously.”

Chen agreed with that sentiment and said the recent Biden-Xi call had helped the “stable and healthy development of our two countries’ relationship.”

“Whether we choose cooperation or confrontation affects the well-being of both peoples, both countries, and the future of humanity” he said.

Chen added that he hoped Blinken was able to get a “deep impression and understanding” of Shanghai.

Shortly after arriving, Blinken attended a Chinese basketball playoff game between the local Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls, with the home team losing in the last seconds in 121-120 nailbiter.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, left, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, center, with U.S. Consulate General in Shanghai Scott Walker, right, while attending a basketball game between the Shanghai Sharks and the Zhejiang Golden Bulls at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium, Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, second left, and U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, far right, arrive at the Grand Halls to meet with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining on Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, shakes hans with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining as they meet at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, meets with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining talks with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, talks with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, center, watches U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns, left, shake hands with Shanghai Party Secretary Chen Jining at the Grand Halls, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)