UCLA asks Alibaba’s Founder Jack Ma for Assist with Arrested Players

UCLA has enlisted the help of Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, a conglomerate of Internet based businesses and one of the richest men in Asia. The school has said to have asked him to lobby for the release of three its players, Li Angelo Ball, Cody Riley and Jalen Hill, who were arrested by Hangzhou police last Monday after a source told ESPN the three reportedly shop lifted from three stores inside a high end shopping center near the team hotel that houses Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Ferragamo stores that was located near the hotel where the team is staying its game against Georgia Tech in nearby Shanghai. Previously, it was thought the three only stole expensive sunglasses from the Louis Vuitton store.

Ma, one of the world’s most influential businessmen, is reportedly worth $47.8 billion and his company was one of the sponsors of the Saturday’s Pac-12’s China game.

UCLA is also hoping its deep ties with China and the fact the university is a prize school for Chinese students and medical researchers will help when they beg for mercy from the Chinese courts. The UCLA three is currently under house arrest at the team hotel until the legal process plays out.  As things stand right now, the three could be in China for a week or two. The three players did fly home to Los Angeles with the rest of the team.