Three UCLA Basketball Players Arrested for Shoplifting in China

Photo from The Los Angeles Times

On November 7, three UCLA basketball players were arrested for shoplifting from a Louis Vuitton store while the team was in China. All three players were freshmen.

According to Sports Illustrated, the three players were Jalen Hill, Cody Riley, and LiAngelo Ball. The Chinese police initially went to the team's hotel and questioned all the players on the team before arresting the three players for shoplifting sunglasses from the Louis Vuitton store that is near their hotel in Huangzhou.

Yahoo reports that the issue now becomes the status of the three players. The legal system in China is much different than the United States. Under current Chinese law, they could face three to 10 years in prison if convicted. The conviction rate for this crime in China is at 99%. Even though they have been released on bail, they are still required to stay at the hotel for the foreseeable future. Chinese legal experts say that political calculations will be considered when it comes to the full punishment of the three players.

While the three players wait for their punishment, they have been assigned hotel arrest. The hotel they are forced to stay at is the same as the one the rest of the team is staying at. It is a luxury hotel with various amenities that the three players can still access while under hotel arrest.

UCLA is in China to play Georgia Tech on behalf of the Pac-12 wishes to expand their brand into Asia. The game takes place on November 10, a game none of those three players will partake in. It is also unclear whether or not the three players will leave with the university or separately.

Ball is the most notable out of the three due to his brother Lonzo playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, his outspoken father Lavar, and his younger brother LaMelo who has already committed to play basketball for UCLA.