Were indefinite suspensions enough for LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill?

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Jonathan Khamis, Jeff Miller and I discuss the UCLA’s press conference with LiAngelo Ball, Jalen Hill and Cody Riley and the program’s punishment for shoplifting.

For more coverage of the freshmen’s apologies, read here.

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  • Daniel flores

    They should be kicked off the team. They stole from 3 places. that proves they didn’t care. UCLA will show weakness and let them play again.

    • Sandy Underpants

      It’s a reflection of the lack of ethics and values of the university being represented and supported by admitted criminals. They admitted they stole the merchandise. Every other school, except maybe Florida and couple other SECers, these guys would be off the team, because most schools care about student athlete values.

  • Lifelong Bruin Fan

    Stealing, from 3 different stores no less, should result in loss of scholarship and team dismissal, IMHO. This is a serious breach of the code of conduct for a scholarship athlete and deserves serious consequences.

  • mikey likes it

    @Jeff Miller – Character is as Character does!

  • UCLA Dynasty

    Alford and discipline be aren’t exactly best friends. Remember our football players that stole the laptop? Gone! And so should these three losers.

    • j metaphor

      The football players that stole the laptop were suspended indefinitely (sound familiar ?) and they chose to transfer, that’s why they are gone.

      • Richard

        If these 3 are gone, they will be playing for our competitors w/in a week just like the 3 FB players.

  • Coach Thom

    I doubt if any of these players feel much remorse about their actions and the ramifications those actions will have on their former teammates and the program. We’re living in the age of juvenile ‘self entitlement’ so I don’t expect any true acknowledgement from these NBA hopefuls of the seriousness of their crimes.

    • j metaphor

      So what is “true acknowledgement”?
      I guess sitting in front of 100 reporters, apologizing to your school, team mates, family, fans and the country of China with a million people watching isn’t?
      What is?

      • Jethro G Sabbath

        Look at j sticking up for the criminals!
        At least now we know you’ll never again preach about the santcity of Bruin athletics and how this kind of thing won’t ever be tolerated in Westwood.

        • Richard

          On the same day these first offender JUVENILES were delivering their mia culpas, the ASSISTANT HEAD COACH of the sc basketball program was pleading not guilty in NYC to 4 federal felony counts involved in buying players.
          Why no pub on THAT ????

          • Jethro G Sabbath

            Sorry Richard but college student-athletes are not JUVENILES.
            I’m not denying the charges against Tony Bland nor did his situation go unreported.
            I was pointing out the hypocrisy of a Bruin fan who has over 3900 comments, a great many of which claim that UCLA would never recruit, much less tolerate individuals who would ever engage in such activities but is now here defending them.

      • Sandy Underpants

        Anyone can publicly apologize. Who cares.

    • MPPBruin

      The age of juvenile self entitlement? I’m sure that this is not the first time some young men did something stupid.

      • Sandy Underpants

        They are criminals, grand theft. Not a mistake or accident or bad decision. Pre-meditated thievery from 3 separate stores. You sound like the kind of crap parent that makes excuses for your kids bad behavior and everyone else has to deal with you and your rotten offspring.

        • MPPBruin

          I love hearing the excessive moralizing from strangers on the internet. So laughably self-righteous.

          They stole some handbags and sunglasses. They didn’t rape anyone. No one is dead. Is this the first generation of people the only ones to ever steal anything? People have been droning on about kids these days for decades. There is nothing new here.

          • Sandy Underpants

            As long as UCLA is proud of paying tuition for admitted criminals to represent their university. It’s not excessive moralizing to expect all people to be held to the same standards of not robbing and stealing and raping and murdering. But hey, I don’t think rape and murder is a big deal, you don’t think stealing is a big deal. I do think there should be rules though.

          • MPPBruin

            The argument that some action needs to be taken so that criminals don’t represent the school sounds more about saving face and embarrassment for the school. That sounds like a pretty weak principle to stand on, particularly from an educational institution which is primarily focused on personal development of people. I would hope that whatever punishment is given is based on the principle of fostering a greater sense of responsibility. I’m a little skeptical of kicking them off the team, because all that will really do will just have them transfer to a lower profile school. I’d like to think that we can use this as an opportunity to teach a bigger lesson, and focus less on the optics.

          • Sandy Underpants

            There’s no face saving for an institution that is so desperate to have a successful athletics program that they don’t care about using criminals to achieve their ends. Clearly UCLA is desperate and immoral. That’s fine. With or without these criminals the UCLA athletic program will continue to remain on the bottom of NCAA athletics.

  • This is a tough call.

    In America we believe in second chances.

    But The Three were probably going to be at the school for only 1 or maybe 2 years anyway, and then try for the NBA money. So as Father Ball said, it’s probably “no big deal.”

  • PVBruin17

    I’m sure everyone who wants to throw the book at these kids never did anything stupid when they were 18. Give these kids the opportunity to grow and learn from their mistakes. If they show an inability or unwillingness to do so, then it’s time for more extreme measures.

  • JustOwns

    So the 3 cubs go on a premeditated, funski, Chinese Mall shoplifting tour while representing UCLA BB program. It would be ludicrous to assume this is the cubs first whack at shoplifting.

    When the shoplifting bust was first announced, I was in favor of kicking the cubs out of the University, provided the charges weren’t over some cultural differences.

    Turns out Chinese and American retailers think alike; both find shoplifting is euphemism for cheap, CS, petty theft.

    I have zero reason to change my original assessment; the 3 cubs s/b kicked out of UCLA. That’s a harsh lesson they won’t ever forget should they decide to shoplift again.

    • gotroy22

      You forgot the best part, you and Chancellor Blockhead are actually pretending Trump didn’t get them released. You two are the Three Thieves Truthers.

  • Sandy Underpants

    These guys stole about $50,000 worth of merchandise. Which in perspective, is about $20 million dollars in China since they pay Chinese laborers a dollar a day to make Donald Trump merchandise. So I would say the 10 years they were going to get, was probably appropriate. Too bad there are different standards for celebrities and athletes, the world over.