Basketball Players Head Home After Week's Detention in China

Resolution of case against them isn't clear
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 14, 2017 9:39 AM CST
UCLA Basketball Players Leave China After Week's Detention
Jalen Hill (left), Cody Riley (center), and LiAngelo Ball (right) are shown in a combo photo.   (AP Photo/File)

The three UCLA basketball players accused of shoplifting while on a team trip to China flew back home Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reports. A source confirms to ESPN they are due back in the US Tuesday. Hours before freshmen LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill, and Cody Riley were spotted by airline staff checking in for an LA-bound Delta flight, President Trump said he'd interceded on their behalf by asking Chinese President Xi Jinping to resolve the matter.

The three players had been detained for a week, most of that time in a hotel, after being suspected of stealing sunglasses at a Louis Vuitton boutique near the team's hotel in Hangzhou, as well as possibly other stores inside a high-end retail center. The results of the police investigation aren't clear. The rest of the team had returned to the US after Saturday's basketball game. (More China stories.)

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