LaVar Ball is reportedly unhappy with the punishment his middle son, LiAngelo, is receiving at UCLA since returning to campus in the aftermath of the China shoplifting incident—so much so that he has removed the younger Ball from the school in order to explore other options.
After confirming to ESPN that he had pulled his son from the school, Ball said, “We are exploring other options with Gelo. He’s out of there.”
LiAngelo and his teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill were accused of shoplifting in Hangzhou, China, last month before their season-opening game against Georgia Tech in Shanghai. All three were suspended indefinitely by the team.
The entire situation ultimately led to a war of words between LaVar Ball and Donald Trump over who had actually helped get the players “freed” from the charges in China.
Since the suspension, Ball has not played one game with his team, and the elder Ball does not agree with that.
“I’m not sitting back and waiting,” LaVar Ball told ESPN. “He wasn’t punished this bad in China.
“We get back over here and the consequences were even stiffer than China. So basically they’re in jail here,” Ball added.
Ball told ESPN that he has not decided where his son will play next, but said, “I’m going to make him way better for the draft than UCLA ever could have.”
The elder Ball said, “He’s not transferring to another school. The plan now is to get Gelo ready for the NBA draft.”
Ball had previously told ESPN that LiAngelo would only play one season with UCLA even if he weren’t projected to be a draft pick. LiAngelo’s older brother, Lonzo Ball, played one season at UCLA before being drafted No. 2 by the Los Angeles Lakers.
LaVar Ball told ESPN that he had not informed UCLA’s coaches that he was pulling LiAngelo from school, and he has no plans to.
Ball, Riley and Hill have not been allowed to suit up, practice or travel with the Bruins as part of their suspension.
“They had him there just to use the Ball family name. They were going to keep the best shooter on the team coming off the bench? That’s like telling the Clippers back in the day not to play J.J. Redick,” LaVar Ball said.
You can’t say LaVar doesn’t ride hard for his sons.
Read more at ESPN.