LaVar Ball says LiAngelo will ‘be fine’ after arrest
LaVar Ball may have cancelled his Wednesday morning press conference in China to address the shoplifting arrest of his son, LiAngelo, on the advice of legal counsel, but he remains confident everything will be just “fine.”
In fact, LaVar went as far as to say this whole thing and the potential jail time simply aren’t that big a deal.
LaVar Ball said, "I'm going to wait until I get more intel on what's going on" before he comments on LiAngelo Ball's arrest but said he's not worried. "He'll be fine," he said. "Everyone's making it a big deal. It ain't that big a deal." pic.twitter.com/E7QuMaMsNU
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 8, 2017
The reality, of course, is that it’s all a very big deal. If convicted, LiAngelo and his two UCLA teammates face upwards of 3-10 years in prison. Even in the event they aren’t ultimately convicted, the process to decide whether or not to press charges could take 30-37 days and the players could be detained for the duration of that time.
All three were released on bail early Wednesday morning, but instructed to remain at a hotel in Hangzhou for now.
It's important to note that Ball, Riley and Hill are being required by Hangzhou police to remain at a hotel in Hangzhou until the legal process is over, which could take days, weeks or even months. The hope is obviously sooner rather than later.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 8, 2017
So they can not join the rest of the team in Shanghai and they can not return home just yet. They can go wherever they want within the hotel and people can go see them but they can not leave the property until the legal process is over.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) November 8, 2017
It remains to be seen if LaVar reschedules his press conference following this latest round of developments.