Three UCLA basketball players, Cody Riley, Jalen Hill and LiAngelo Ball were arrested this month for shoplifting in Hangzhou, China prior to UCLA’s season-opening game against Georgia Tech. They were released on bail, but were stuck in China awaiting their fate. The following week, President Trump personally asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to help resolve the issue and the players were back in L.A. the next night. Trump then tweeted wondering if the players would thank him. LaVar Ball, LiAnglo’s father, has made his name known for his lack of filter this past year prior to and after his son, Lonzo, being drafted into the NBA. He expressed in interviews, including one with CNN, that he doesn’t think the president should be thanked and if Trump helped, he shouldn’t have to say anything. This resulted in more tweets from Trump. People have used the hashtag #LaVarvsTrump to share opinions on the unlikely feud.
Most people are supporting LaVar.
Hey Donald – Calling a black man an “ungrateful fool” sounds an awful lot like something a white racist would say. @realDonaldTrump #LaVarvsTrump
— Ghost of Tom Joad (@OfJoad) November 22, 2017
The @realDonaldTrump is losing it because #LavarBall owned him by not saying thank you. Lavar Ball won the war with one shot. #LaVarvsTrump
— SinnerX (@Sinnerx) November 22, 2017
Poor #Trump can't hide his insatiable appetite for praise & adoration. #AmericaTheBeautiful 😂#LaVarvsTrump https://t.co/o4pNzLvKPR
— Israel Ayongwa (@iayongwa) November 22, 2017
ARE
YOU
A
CHILD?or
ARE
YOU
A
PRESIDENT?!?#AlerttheDaycareStaff #PissingMatch#LaVarvsTrump #LavarBall— Michael Wold (@theBallardMike) November 22, 2017
However, some people (very few) are supporting the president.
@Lavarbigballer Mr LaVar Ball please keep your shoplifting thief of a son out of all retail stores. Take notes from D.Trump on being a father next time. #LaVarvsTrump pic.twitter.com/oAcWiJzhz2
— Damien Axe (@Damien_Axe) November 23, 2017
#Loser This should kill the ratings on his show…not that he is only an ass, but that he thinks it is ok that his son is a thief!! Yes..I said thief!! It isn't these young "men" didn't have money to buy in China, they we just Thieves!! #LaVarvsTrump https://t.co/3f4FwQI9lh
— Andrea Bollinger (@alynn2361) November 22, 2017
It was later made known that shoplifting is considered a minor crime in China and foreigners accused are rarely given a jail sentence, they’re typically deported, so Trump’s intervention didn’t make a difference.