LOS ANGELES (AP) — Three UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting in China admitted to the crime and apologized before coach Steve Alford announced they were being suspended indefinitely.
LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley were described as “good young men” by Alford at a campus news conference on Wednesday.
Riley, in a statement, said he was “embarrassed and ashamed” by his actions and thanked President Donald Trump and the US government for “taking the time to intervene on our behalf.”
Ball apologized for letting down his family and teammates, calling the incident a “stupid mistake” and said he had “learned my lesson.”
Hill, too, apologized to his teammates and family. “What I did was stupid. There’s no other way to put it,” he said,
Alford and athletic director Dan Guerrero also spoke, but no one took questions from a horde of media.
The coach said the trio wouldn’t be allowed to suit up, practice or travel with the team while the university continues to sort out the circumstances of last week’s incident in Hangzhou, China.
