LaVar Ball downplays U.S. President Donald Trump's role in LiAngelo Ball's release from China

collected by :Tod Hinery

open_word} LOS ANGELES -- LaVar Ball downplayed his son's shoplifting incident in China, as well as President Donald Trump's involvement in getting LiAngelo Ball and two other UCLA basketball players back to the United States earlier this week. LaVar Ball told ESPN on Friday, when asked about Trump's involvement in the matter. "As long as my boy's back here, I'm fine," LaVar Ball told ESPN. A lot of people like to say a lot of things that they thought happened over there. "Everybody gets stuck on the negativity of some things and they get stuck on them too long.

LaVar Ball on President Donald Trump's role in UCLA freshmen's release: 'Who?'

In an interview with ESPN's Arash Markazi, Ball downplayed Trump's role in intervening in the matter after three UCLA freshmen, including his middle son, were detained for shoplifting in China. During a two-day trip to Beijing last week, President Donald Trump asked his Chinese counterpart, President Xi Jinping, to help resolve the case of the three UCLA basketball players who were arrested for shoplifting in Hangzhou. In the wake of the expeditious treatment, President Trump sought -- and later received -- public gratitude from the three players. Now, the least surprising thing seems to be an inevitable Donald Trump tweet seeking the same from LaVar. A lot of people like to say a lot of things that they thought happened over there.

LaVar Ball belittles Donald Trump's role in release of son, 2 other UCLA players

As it stated in (CNN) Days after President Donald Trump touted his role in the release of three UCLA basketball students who were arrested in China, LaVar Ball, the father of one of those players, suggested the President had little to do with the matter. Ball told ESPN when asked about Trump's involvement in the situation. Trump's social media director, Dan Scavino, fired back at Ball on his personal Twitter account Saturday afternoon, saying Ball's son, LiAngelo, "would be in China for a long, long, long time" without the President's assistance. "Wannabe @Lakers coach, BIG MOUTH @Lavarbigballer knows if it weren't for President @realDonaldTrump, his son would be in China for a long, long, long time! Trump had said he personally asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to intervene in the case.