LiAngelo Ball, UCLA Teammates Return Home After Shoplifting Arrest In China

UCLA Bruins basketball players LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley are headed back to the United States Tuesday after being arrested and questioned for allegedly shoplifting in China.

Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott released a statement that confirmed the players had departed and were expected to land in Los Angeles Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The three players were seen checking into a U.S.-bound Delta Airlines flight at Shanghai's Pudong International Airport in video obtained by TMZ.

President Donald Trump raised concern regarding the incident during his two-day trip to Beijing last week and had asked Chinese president Xi Jinping to help resolve the case, according to reports. The players were released on bail Wednesday, barred from traveling back home with their team and ordered to remain at a hotel in Hangzhou until legal proceedings ended.

"The basketball players, by the way — I know a lot of people are asking — I will tell you, when I heard about it two days ago, I had a great conversation with President Xi," Trump told reporters as he boarded Air Force One in Asia. "[Xi] was terrific, and they’re working on it right now. And hopefully everything is going to work out. And I know they’re very grateful because they were told exactly what happened. But it’s a very, very rough situation with what happened to them."

LiAngelo Ball and his teammates were arrested and questioned last week about allegedly attempting to steal sunglasses from a Louis Vuitton store located near the team's hotel in Hangzhou. The Bruins defeated the Yellow Jackets 63-60 in Shanghai on Friday night during the season opener.

There was surveillance footage of the players shoplifting from three stores in a high-end mall complex that included Salvatore Ferragamo, Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent, according to ESPN. The charges against the players were reduced, a source familiar with the incident told the Washington Post.

Ball, 18, is the son of Big Baller Brand entrepreneur LaVar Ball and the younger brother of Los Angeles rookie guard Lonzo Ball. The Ball family has been mum regarding the incident.

"My dad did call me but didn't leave me much information," Lonzo Ball told reporters Saturday during a shootaround in Milwaukee. "He just said, 'Be ready to play. We are handling it out here,' so that's a good sign."