LaVar Ball pulls LiAngelo from UCLA to focus on NBA Draft

LAS VEGAS, NV – JULY 07: LaVar Ball, father of Lonzo Ball #2 of the Los Angeles Lakers, jokes with fans at halftime of a 2017 Summer League game between the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers at the Thomas & Mack Center on July 7, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Clippers won 96-93 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP

LaVar Ball said on Monday he will withdraw his son LiAngelo from the college basketball program at UCLA in protest at his suspension for shoplifting in China.

LiAngelo was one of three UCLA players arrested in China earlier this month and later released after the intervention of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He was later suspended indefinitely by UCLA over what became an international incident and led to a war of words been LaVar and President Donald Trump.

LaVar, however, told ESPN on Monday he was withdrawing his son from UCLA.

“We are exploring other options with Gelo,” LaVar told ESPN. “He’s out of there.”

“I’m not sitting back and waiting.

“He wasn’t punished this bad in China. We get back over here and the consequences were even stiffer than China. So basically they’re in jail here.”

LaVar said LiAngelo would not transfer to another school but would rather concentrate on entering the 2018 NBA draft.

LiAngelo is the younger brother of Los Angeles Lakers point guard Lonzo Ball, who joined the NBA powerhouse this year after playing one season at UCLA.