‘Ungrateful fool!’ – Trump slams LaVar Ball over shoplifting case

Donald Trump has called LaVar Ball an “ungrateful fool” and a “poor man’s version of Don King” following his refusal to thank the US president for his son’s release from China.

“LaVar, you could have spent the next 5 to 10 years during Thanksgiving with your son in China, but no NBA contract to support you. But remember LaVar, shoplifting is NOT a little thing. It’s a really big deal, especially in China. Ungrateful fool!” Trump wrote on his Twitter account on Wednesday, referring to Ball’s unwillingness to recognize the president’s role in bringing his son home to Los Angeles.

Ball’s middle son LiAngelo and two of his UCLA basketball teammates were detained in China earlier this month on suspicion of shoplifting from stores in Shanghai. The players, who reportedly could have spent up to 15 years in prison, were released after Trump was said to have personally addressed Chinese President Xi Jinping to solve the issue during a visit to China.

Following his son’s return to the US, Ball senior declined to recognize Trump’s apparent role in helping the trio, saying he was not willing to thank someone “for nothing.”

READ MORE: ‘We really appreciate you’ - UCLA basketball players thank Trump for negotiating release

“I’m not just saying thank you to anybody for nothing,” he said during his Monday appearance on CNN, where among other things he suggested that his son’s release was attributed to his own actions. “I’m just saying I had some things done, I had some people who did some other things.”

Ball also recommended that Trump concentrate more on political affairs, rather than on Ball family issues.

“That’s on your mind, that a father didn’t say ‘Thank you’? And you’re the head of the US? Come on. There’s a lot of other things that’s going on. Let him do his political affairs and let me handle my son, and let’s just stay in our lane,” he added.

The US leader, however, rejected any idea of Ball’s involvement in resolving the case, while also calling him a “poor man’s version of Don King.”

“It wasn’t the White House, it wasn’t the State Department, it wasn’t father LaVar’s so-called people on the ground in China that got his son out of a long term prison sentence - IT WAS ME. Too bad! LaVar is just a poor man’s version of Don King, but without the hair. Just think..” Trump tweeted.