The Big Baller Brand might have international representation much sooner than expected. Three UCLA men’s basketball players — including LiAngelo Ball, the middle brother of the triple B brand and younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers rookie Lonzo Ball — were arrested in Hangzhou, China on Wednesday for allegedly shoplifting from the Louis Vuitton store there.
The three freshman players – Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill – were questioned along with members of Georgia Tech‘s basketball team about allegedly boosting sunglasses from the Louis Vuitton store next to the team’s hotel where they were staying as part of a China visit that includes stops in Shanghai and a game on Friday.
The three were arrested and eventually released around 4 a.m. LaVar Ball arrived in China and after initially scheduling a press conference, canceled after being advised it might interfere with the legal case.
LaVar Ball said, “I’m going to wait until I get more intel on what’s going on” before he comments on LiAngelo Ball’s arrest but said he’s not worried. “He’ll be fine,” he said. “Everyone’s making it a big deal. It ain’t that big a deal.” pic.twitter.com/E7QuMaMsNU
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 8, 2017
In the meantime, the three players aren’t currently with the team in Shanghai, instead, they are staying at a luxury hotel in Hangzhou along with a UCLA representative. They aren’t allowed to leave the hotel premises and must remain in China until the legal process has been completed. That could be anywhere from a few days up until a month or longer.
The Big Baller Brand has a pop up shop that was scheduled in China – one in Shanghai Nov. 10 and one in Hong Kong Nov. 14. – LaVar still plans to move forward with it. Did I mention that they are also filming their reality show while there as well.
The Ball family is heading on a sightseeing tour of Shanghai while their reality show crew films them. Meanwhile the UCLA men’s basketball team is at Shanghai Disneyland. LiAngelo Ball is still detained in Hangzhou along with teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill for shoplifting. pic.twitter.com/edzqaKKwjr
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 8, 2017
Seems as if LiAngenlo is acting out overlooked middle child behavior. Although LaVar is downplaying the situation, Chines law is extremely strict. The three could face between three and 10 years in prison if convicted. It should be noted that Chinese prosecutors have a 99% conviction rate.
The UCLA players along with three Georgia Tech players were reportedly questioned at the hotel – which is connected to a shopping area where the store was located- away from each other and team representatives, for almost six hours. UCLA released this statement:
“We are aware of a situation involving UCLA student-athletes in Hangzhou, China,” UCLA said in a statement. “The University is cooperating fully with local authorities on this matter, and we have no further comment at this time.”
