The despicable episode involving the three UCLA college basketball players who shoplifted while in China is evidently over, but the repercussions will be felt for a long time to come
The three players--LiAngelo Ball, Codey Riley and Jalen Hill--had a news conference yesterday upon their return to the United States, and apologized for their actions.
They even said it would never happen again.
You're darn right it won't happen again, because these players--who caused an international incident of epic proportions, brought shame to their country and their school, and needed the assistance of our President to be set free--should never set foot on a basketball court again.
Right now, they simply have been suspended from their team, and their coach said in order to get back on the team, "They will have to earn it."
Why they have not been expelled from UCLA--which is supposed to be a college of education--is beyond my comprehension.
If you remember the incident, the three players, who were in China because their team was going to open its season there, shoplifted pricey sunglasses from three stores near their hotel.
They were caught red handed, as the stolen merchandise was found in their belongings.
If they were convicted, they could have spent many years in prison, but then luck prevailed.
President Trump was in China in talks with the Chinese president Xi Jinping, where they were meeting to discuss matters of international interest, such as China's relationship with North Korea.
But China is a basketball hot bed at the moment. Since Western-style basketball became all the rage when Yao Ming came to the NBA in 1989, basketball might be the most popular sport played in China, and thus, high-profile teams that schedule international jaunts are not uncommon.
Enter UCLA, perhaps the most famous college basketball program in the country, with a legacy that stretches from coach John Wooden to player Lew Alcindor.
Anyway, the talks between the two leaders got to basketball, and President Trump was well aware of the situation that happened with the three basketball players. He intervened, the Chinese president listened, and a deal was worked out.
The players came home yesterday, and they were treated like rock starts, with cameras blazing and reporters copying down and recording every word they said.
And yes, the speeches seemed prepared, written for the players to say, perhaps by the school itself.
You can be sure that when the team scheduled this trip, all personnel who would be going were told how to behave, what to do and what not to do.
I am sure they were told the "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" rules, applied to China, of course.
But I guess all of this went over some players' heads.
And now we have these three truants, who brought shame to so many, including their own families.
Yes, they should be permanently suspended from the team, and expelled from the school, too.
And if that happens, they will just find a place with another school, where they will play more basketball than they will be educated.
That is wrong in and of itself, but if any of this trio ever sets foot on the basketball court again in a UCLA uniform, that will be even more wrong.
Let them have their second chance somewhere else, and let them make the most of it, the right way.
Pointing the boney finger of indignation against these 3 easy targets is too easy,and takes no courage at all. I'm not surprised, you've done it before to Kathy Griffin, and you'll do it again to the next easy target(s) that comes along.
ReplyDeleteAnd what courage does it take to shoplift when you are in a foreign country? It is easy because those you mentioned are so guilty of being just plain stupid. And now, what is your point? Would you like me to defend these low lifes?
ReplyDeleteAnd now I read that their coach, Steve Alford, has called them "good kids." Please. You can call them easy targets, I call them young men who are in need of a light put upon them to show how stupid they were to do what they did, in spite of the fact that some other dummies will back them. Many people have said Trump should have left them there, but since he did what he did, I think it is time UCLA cut all ties with these supposed "students," and for people like Alford to stop pampering them. Enough is enough.
ReplyDelete"What is your point?" My point, is not the 3 subjects of your scorn, but on you. Yes, you can write about anything that you want, and no I am not obliged to read your daily ramblings. We have been down that road ad nauseum. But as long as you write these essays and as long as I read them I am going to give my reaction. Unless, you pull the plug on me like you did to the other main contributor here, but I digress. Piling on easy targets such as these 3 shoplifters or Kathy Griffin is far to easy, uninteresting, unimaginative and just plain lazy writing. In fact it is(a word I rarely use) boring. I am led to believe that you have been issued a gag order against writing on any controversial issues. Go ahead, continue doing what you do as will I.
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree. This story is very much in the news right now, and I felt I wanted to add my two cents to it, so I wrote about it ... just like I did with Kathy Griffin, who was very much in the news several months ago for what she did. I am staying current by writing about things like this, and yes, what the President did was quite controversial--many of those supporting him did double takes when he stepped in and work on their release. Now, the next controversy is what the three players' status is, not just on the basketball court, but also at the school. Do you simply suspend them, do you fully expel them, what do you do? That is where the controversy stands now, and I think I made my feelings clear in the post. So it is far from lazy writing, it is keeping current with one of the top stories of the day.
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