When LaVar Ball’s son was in custody of the mightiest authoritarian system in the world, LaVar acted like the most diplomatic of concerned parents and never made so much as a negative whisper about the Chinese government. However, once our executive branch resolved the incident and got LiAngelo and two other allegedly light-fingered UCLA players back on U.S. soil, LaVar rushed back to his “Big Baller” image and used his First Amendment rights to downplay President Trump’s role in the resolution and hasn’t stopped since.
Still, the UCLA athletes who allegedly committed a shoplifting spree involving multiple stores during their ambassadorship for American sports serve as a reminder to athletes and fans of what they are in China, and what we are here: When you enter China’s borders, sage travel discretion includes keeping two steps away from breaking their law, whether it is laws that are universal, such as “thou shall not steal,” or laws that deny basic freedoms many Americans take for granted.
All nations have prohibitions against stealing, but ours differs greatly as to the rights afforded to accused persons. In China, if you get caught, there is no due process and there is no notion of “innocent until proven guilty.” The overwhelming odds, which teeter just below 100 percent, are that you will be found guilty and that you will confess. For American defendants, except three lucky Bruins, there is also little chance of President Trump fortuitously landing on Chinese soil around the time you get into trouble. Most offenders will be stuck begging for the State Department to do what they can as the legal process drags on while you sit in custody arrangements exponentially worse than a luxury hotel.
Focus, for a second, on the plight of a heart-broken parent named Antoinette Brown, whose son, Wendell, a 30-year-old semi-pro football player, has been sitting in jail for more than a year after getting arrested for getting in a bar fight with locals. He is trying to prove that he defended himself from flying bottles and that the man he is alleged to have seriously injured fabricated his injuries. Reportedly, it will take $100,000 to resolve the matter, which Wendell’s family does not have. Wendell’s rights as an American afford him a visit from our consulate’s office once a month to check on him.
As opposed to LaVar, Brown would not stop thanking Trump if he took a personal interest in the case. If any of our own children were in the same predicament as LiAngelo and Trump intervened, the president would earn the greatest support a parent can offer a politician.
Unfortunately, LaVar Ball would rather engage in a social media fight with the president than express genuine gratitude and realize how Trump went to bat for LiAngelo. While Trump was wrong to opine that he should have left the players behind, he did get the kids home. LaVar simply may not fully appreciate the nature of the system his son was freed from.
For example, in China, you better stay far from a multitude of conduct the First Amendment guarantees us here. You cannot argue for a Free Tibet, religious freedom, or democracy. When Chinese citizens, motivated by students and factory workers, rose up in 1989 for reforms, the movement was crushed. In one of the most powerful images of the 20th century, a young protester stood in front of a row of tanks, stopping the war machines’ progress. That man was ushered away and never seen again. Additionally, there are still survivors of China’s “Great Leap Forward,” a period of oppression that rivals any a population has faced.
What’s more, if you ever thought of kneeling during the Chinese national anthem, you risk a hell of a lot more than public criticism or losing your private sector job. Virtually no form of protest is tolerated on the mainland. The place boos are actually heard during China’s anthem is in Hong Kong at soccer games. In response, China has recently made disrespect of the anthem a crime.
If LaVar ever went after General Secretary Xi while in China with any comments resembling the discourtesy he has been showing Trump, he would realize the bounty Trump gave him. Simply, when a U.S. citizen is freed from the legal system of a communist nation or a political enemy, citizens and family should not care about the source of the help. It is a time to be gracious about the fact help came. By way of example, when Jessie Jackson was instrumental in freeing three U.S. Soldiers held by Slobodan Milosevic in 1999, Jackson’s political adversaries quickly acknowledged the heroic nature of the effort.
Ultimately, when someone frees your flesh and blood, unconditional gratitude is owed.
Sean Roman Strockyj is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a writer and sports fan from New Hyde Park, N.Y.
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