Donald Trump to LaVar Ball: 'I Should Have Left LiAngelo in Jail!' | Zagsblog
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Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
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Tuesday / March 19.
  • Donald Trump to LaVar Ball: ‘I Should Have Left LiAngelo in Jail!’

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    It seemed somehow inevitable that Donald Trump and LaVar Ball would intersect in the Twitter Universe.

    And now they have.

    Trump called out the elder Ball during his weekly Sunday Twitter rant, suggesting that LaVar was “unaccepting of what I did for his son.” (Did he mean “unappreciative”? Who knows?)

    “I should have left them in jail,” Trump added.

    Trump later added:

    He was referring to the UCLA trio of LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, who were arrested Nov. 8 in China for shoplifting but returned to the U.S. last week after Trump appealed to Chinese President Xi Jinping on their behalf.

    Appearing on ESPN on Friday, LaVar downplayed Trump’s influence in getting the players released.

    “What was he over there for? Don’t tell me nothing,” Ball said Friday on ESPN. “Everybody wants to make it seem like he helped me out.”

    The three players did thank Trump during their press conference Friday at UCLA. They remain suspended “indefinitely,” with one source telling ZAGSBLOG they could return by the Pac-12 season, which begins Dec. 28 vs. Washington State.

    “It would be nice for all of us if both of them would just be quiet,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Trump and LaVar Ball. “Wouldn’t that be great?”

    In the meantime, R.J. Barrett, the Duke commit and projected No. 1 pick in 2019, will head to China next month with his Montverde teammates. For more on that, read the New York Times story here.

    Photo: Getty Images

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    Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle. A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013. He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.

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