Jason Whitlock: LiAngelo Ball Lied on Today Show, Was Not Following Teammates in Shoplifting

On the Today show on Tuesday, LiAngelo Ball said that he followed the lead of his teammates, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, in shoplifting from the Louis Vuitton store and two other luxury shops in China.

“We all went out one night, went through the malls, went to the Louis Vuitton store, and people started taking stuff and me just not thinking and being with them, I took something, too,” LiAngelo said. “We left thinking we’d just get away. You know how kids think. I didn’t realize until I got back to my hotel, I’m like ‘That was stupid.’ But by then it was too late and then sure enough, the next morning, the police came and got us.”

Appearing on The Herd on FS1, Jason Whitlock cited a source saying this story was untrue: “This is just not true. I know from a highly, highly reliable source that LiAngelo’s credit card was declined. That’s what triggered the shoplifting. And so, this whole thing of ‘Oh, people just started taking things and I kind of fell in behind them’ — that is bogus. His credit card declined. That triggered the shoplifting.”

“And of the three kids — only one of them shoplifted from all three stores — LiAngelo Ball,” Whitlock continued. “And so, this insinuation that these other two kids — Cody Riley, Jalen Hill — that they were the ringleaders. No, LiAngelo Ball, on the Today show, with his dad sitting right there, just backed the bus over two black kids and basically blamed them and said he was just following behind them. That is not remotely accurate. His credit card declined, and he was the only of the three to shoplift from all three stores.”

Disclosure: The Big Lead’s editor-in-chief Jason McIntyre appears on FS1’s Speak for Yourself with Jason Whitlock and Colin Cowherd.