TIMING

Report: UCLA Basketball Players Arrested in China Ahead of Trump Visit

Three freshmen players reportedly face shoplifting charges.

Three UCLA men’s basketball players have reportedly been arrested in China on shoplifting charges just a day before President Trump’s first official visit to the country. The three athletes were identified as freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley, and Jalen Hill in multiple news reports. The University of California, Los Angeles, stopped short of confirming the arrests but said it was aware of a “situation involving UCLA student-athletes in Hangzhou, China,” Reuters reported. “The university is cooperating fully with local authorities on this matter, and we have no further comment at this time,” spokeswoman Shana Wilson said. The three students were taken into custody over alleged shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton store near the hotel where the team is staying and have yet to return, ESPN reported. The team arrived in Shanghai over the weekend ahead of a game against Georgia Tech scheduled for Friday. News of the incident came shortly before Trump was due to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday.