During a long and rambling interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo on Monday night, LaVar Ball continued to refuse to thank President Donald Trump for helping in the release of his son and two other players arrested Nov. 8 for shoplifting in China.
The elder Ball said he only would have thanked Trump if he flew the three UCLA players — LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley — home with him on Air Force One following Trump’s recent visit to China.
“I would have said thank you if he would have put [LiAngelo] on his plane and taken him home,” Ball said. “…There’s a lot of room on that plane.”
Instead, after Trump spoke with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the players eventually flew home last Friday and apologized during a press conference at UCLA. They remain suspended indefinitely.
Trump on Sunday called Ball “very ungrateful” for refusing to thank him and said he “should have left them in jail.”
Now that the three basketball players are out of China and saved from years in jail, LaVar Ball, the father of LiAngelo, is unaccepting of what I did for his son and that shoplifting is no big deal. I should have left them in jail!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2017
Shoplifting is a very big deal in China, as it should be (5-10 years in jail), but not to father LaVar. Should have gotten his son out during my next trip to China instead. China told them why they were released. Very ungrateful!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 19, 2017
Cuomo gave Ball numerous chances to thank Trump, but he simply wouldn’t do it.
“If I help somebody, I don’t walk around saying, ‘You know, I helped you now,'” he said.
“If I was going to thank somebody I would probably thank President Xi,” he added. “He’s the President in China.”
LaVar Ball on Donald Trump “I’m not just going to around saying Thank You” pic.twitter.com/VAa4cFXp7J
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) November 21, 2017
Ball also reiterated that it wasn’t that big of a deal that his son was arrested for shoplifting, even though he could have spent 5-10 years in Chinese prison as a result. He called it a “victimless” crime.
“It was an impulse thing, a bad decision at a bad time,” he said.
Ball signed off by saying, “Tell Donald Trump To have a great Thanksgiving because Big Baller is.”
Photo: TMZ
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