Early Thursday morning, President Donald Trump directed a pair of tweets at three UCLA basketball players who had been arrested in China for shoplifting and had thanked Trump for helping them return to the U.S. this week.
Trump instructed the players — freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley — to thank Chinese president Xi Jinping and "HAVE A GREAT LIFE!" The three players publicly apologized Wednesday and are indefinitely suspended from the team.
"To the three UCLA basketball players I say: You're welcome, go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE!" Trump wrote in a two-part statement on Twitter. "Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life!"
To the three UCLA basketball players I say: You're welcome, go out and give a big Thank You to President Xi Jinping of China who made.....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2017
....your release possible and, HAVE A GREAT LIFE! Be careful, there are many pitfalls on the long and winding road of life!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2017
Trump told reporters on Tuesday in Manila that he had spoken with Xi regarding the situation and personally intervened on the players' behalf. UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said the trio stole from three stores during a period of free time in the city of Hangzhou, China, last week. The Bruins were in China to play a game against Georgia Tech.
While the rest of the UCLA basketball team returned to the U.S. on Saturday, Ball, Hill and Riley remained in their Hangzhou hotel until Tuesday, when they were flown back to Los Angeles.
On Wednesday morning, Trump wondered on Twitter whether the players would thank him for his efforts, claiming that they had faced a possible sentence of 10 years in prison. And at a press conference later in the day, Ball, Hill, Riley and coach Steve Alford did in fact thank the president by name, in addition to the U.S. State Department and others.
Alford said the players are suspended indefinitely and "they will have to earn their way back."
