Chinese Authorities Drop All Charges Against LiAngelo Ball And His Two UCLA Teammates In Shoplifting Case

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LiAngelo Ball and his two UCLA teammates, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill are finally able to come home after Chinese authorities dropped all charges against them despite plenty of evidence to convict the players.

Via China Sports Insider

China Sports Insider can exclusively reveal that LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill – the UCLA players detained for shoplifting in Hangzhou while on a trip to China – have been released and are currently on their way back to Los Angeles.

The three were arrested last week on Monday and, while they were initially released from police custody, they remained under effective house arrest at an upmarket hotel in Hangzhou – with the trio all staying in a the same room – until their release earlier this afternoon.

Given that LiAngelo’s Dad, LaVar, and younger brother, LaMelo, were today hosting a pop-up shop for the family’s Big Baller Brand in Hong Kong, which was due to finish at 9pm China time – the exact time the teens’ flight was scheduled to depart from Shanghai – it’s possible that the family is just now receiving news of the release, given the tight turnaround of events.

It appears that Ball and his teammates had plenty of help behind the scenes from very powerful people.

Reports claimed, variously, that President Trump, Alibaba boss Jack Ma, and co-founder Joe Tsai – who has just purchased 49% of the Brooklyn Nets – among others had been working behind the scenes to secure their release, but the result is the same: they’re out and on their way home.

It’s unclear whether UCLA will discipline the players for their actions but it must be a relief that everyone involved avoided an international incident.

Jorge Alonso BroBible avatar
Brobible sports editor. Jorge is a Miami native and lifelong Heat fan. He has been covering the NBA, MLB and NFL professionally for almost 10 years, specializing in digital media.