The three UCLA men’s basketball players who were entangled in an international incident in China that compelled President Donald Trump to get involved admitted on Wednesday that they had shoplifted in Hangzhou. They were suspended from the team indefinitely.

“They will have to earn their way back,” coach Steve Alford said of LiAngelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill.

The players, who returned to the United States on Tuesday after Trump interceded with President Xi Jinping of China, apologized for their actions at a news conference.

Ball, the highest profile player involved, said: “I’d like to start off by saying sorry for stealing from the stores in China. I’m a young man, but it’s not an excuse for making a really stupid decision.”

The team said the players had stolen from three stores, not just one as originally reported.

Earlier Wednesday, Trump tweeted about his intervention, saying: “Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!”

The players did thank Trump, among many others.

“To President Trump and the United States government, thank you for taking time to intervene on our behalf,” Riley said.

The players also thanked the Chinese police for treating them with respect.

“These are good young men who exercised an inexcusable lapse of judgment,” Alford said.

— The New York Times