Trump: I Should Have Left College Basketball Players in Jail

President Donald Trump on Sunday lashed out at LaVar Ball, the father of UCLA basketball player LiAngelo Ball who, along with two of his teammates, returned to the United States after being accused of shoplifting in China. “Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I should have left them in jail!” The tweet was in response to LaVar Ball downplaying Trump’s involvement in the matter. Trump previously said that he personally appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping to secure the players’ return to the U.S., and later wondered whether the players would thank him. Upon returning home, LiAngelo Ball said, “I would also like to thank the president and the United States government for the help that they provided.”