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Lavar Ball Pulls Son LiAngelo Out of UCLA: 'He's Out of There'

LaVar Ball / Getty Images
December 4, 2017

LaVar Ball has pulled his son LiAngelo Ball out of UCLA in the aftermath of his indefinite suspension for his shoplifting arrest in China that drew international attention.

"We are exploring other options with Gelo," the elder Ball said. "He's out of there."

TMZ Sports first broke the story on Monday.

"I'm not sitting back and waiting," Ball told ESPN. "He wasn't punished this bad in China."

 "We get back over here and the consequences were even stiffer than China," he added. "So basically they're in jail here."

Ball added that he will do a better job of preparing LiAngelo for the NBA than UCLA would have. However, he said his youngest son, LaMelo, who is still in high school, still plans to play for the storied UCLA program after making a verbal commitment.

President Donald Trump and the outspoken senior Ball memorably feuded last month after the latter said Trump did not deserve credit for interceding on behalf of Ball and his teammates Cody Riley and Jalen Hill.

UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero said the players stole items from three stores during a 90-minute free period in the eastern city of Hangzhou, according to NBC News.

Trump said he mentioned the matter to Chinese President Xi Jinping while abroad and helped get the players out of serious trouble. They faced prison time for theft but returned to the United States a week after being detained after the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of Chinese authorities.

LiAngelo Ball will leave the program having never played a game for the Bruins. His older brother Lonzo, 20, played one year for UCLA last season and was selected with the second overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.