Trump On UCLA Players: 'I Should Have Left Them In Jail'

President Donald Trump on Sunday tweeted that he should have left the UCLA basketball players who were arrested in China on shoplifting charges in jail because LaVar Ball, the father of one of the players, played down the president's involvement in securing the release of the players.

"Who?" Ball told ESPN on Saturday when asked about Trump's involvement in the incident. "What was he over there for? Don't tell me nothing. Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out."

On Wednesday, Trump had questioned whether the players would thank him for his involvement.

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

The three players — freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill — did indeed thank Trump for his role in securing their release.

'To President Trump and the United States government, thank you for taking the time to intervene on our behalf, we really appreciate you helping us out," Riley said at a press conference Wednesday when he and his teammates were back in the U.S.

The younger Ball and Hill also thanked Trump for his involvement. Trump appeared to accept their thanks, tweeting "you're welcome" and told them to have a great life.

All three have been suspended from the basketball team indefinitely. They will not travel with the team or suit-up for home games, and they will remain suspended as the players go through the university's disciplinary review process.

The trio were detained a little less than two weeks ago on suspicion of shoplifting sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store next to the team's hotel in Hangzhou. ESPN reported that Chinese authorities have surveillance video showing the players taking merchandise from as many as three upscale shops. The three players were released and returned to the U.S. earlier this week.

After the elder Ball's comments on Saturday, where he also defended his son, saying that one bad decision doesn't define him, Trump tweeted that he should have left the three players in jail.

Also See: UCLA Players Apologize, Get Suspended

City News Service and Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report

Photo by Jae C. Hong/Associated press