| Wednesday, December 6, 2017 |
| MSU police department provides 24/7 drop-off of unwanted medications | |
 | The police department at Mississippi State University now has a dropbox in its lobby where people can leave unwanted medications. It is available for use by the public 24 hours a day. That dropbox is described by the school as one way to fight opioid abuse. Another step being taken by MSU is giving campus police officers Narcan, the medication they can give to someone to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. |
| Carl Small Town Center at MSU receives public outreach, design honors | |
 | Mississippi State's Carl Small Town Center is receiving two statewide awards for its "Marking the Mule" project focused on advancing citizen engagement in the Marks community. CSTC Director Leah F. Kemp recently accepted a 2017 Public Outreach Award from the Mississippi Chapter of the American Planning Association. The award recognizes an individual or program that uses information and education to raise awareness about the value of planning among communities and locales. Award criteria include innovation, comprehensiveness, holistic approach, transferability, quality, implementation and technology use. The project also received an AIA Design Award from the Mississippi Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. |
| The largest land organism is ... a fungus | |
 | The largest terrestrial organism on the planet is a fungus called Armillaria solidipes -- or honey fungus. The largest honey fungus identified in North America is in Oregon. It measures 3.4 miles (5.5 kilometers) across. That's considerably bigger than the biggest giant sequoia or African elephant. Scientists also believe that this particular honey fungus may be over 2,000 years old. The next largest honey fungus is in the neighboring state of Washington. The honey fungus gets its size from its ability to fuse into a single organism. Soil scientist Jesse Morrison, from Mississippi State University, explained: "When mycelia from different individual honey fungus bodies meet, either in or on the soil surface, they can attempt to fuse to each other. The fungi must be genetically identical honey fungi. When the mycelia successfully fuse to each other, they link very large fungal bodies together. This, in turn, changes extensive networks of fungal 'clones' into a single individual." |
| Rosa Stewart, Sadye Weir to be honored at Starkville's Unity Park | |
 | Oktibbeha County supervisors have a pair of nominees to add to the Unity Park early next year. Everlyn Johnson, a member of the Unity Park committee, went before supervisors Monday to reveal the nominees -- Rosa Stewart and Sadye Weir -- the committee selected after receiving nominations through October and November. "This was a unanimous recommendation from the committee members," Johnson said. Unity Park was formed in 2014 in an area on Douglas L. Connor Drive beside the courthouse annex. It features plaques honoring Martin Luther King Jr., longtime physician and Starkville civil rights leader Douglas L. Connor, former Mississippi Gov. William Winter, Fannie Lou Hammer, Medgar Evers, and the 1963 "Game of Change" between Mississippi State University men's basketball team and Chicago Loyola's basketball teams -- the first time MSU played an integrated team. |
| Governor proposes increase for special needs vouchers | |
 | The Mississippi Legislature, dealing with sluggish revenue collections and two years of budget cuts, is being asked by Gov. Phil Bryant to triple the amount of money for a program that provides vouchers or scholarships for special needs children to pursue private education options. Bryant's budget plan for the upcoming fiscal year proposes increasing the appropriation for the Education Scholarship Accounts from $3 million for the current fiscal year to $13 million for the upcoming fiscal year, which begins July 1. In his budget narrative, the Republican governor said, "School choice empowers parents to choose a school they feel best meets their child's needs. That empowerment should not be limited to those with means. Every parent, regardless of ZIP code or income, deserves educational options for their children. Next session, I will support a proposal to expand school choice." |
| Green light for expansion at the port is 'crucial' for the Coast economy | |
 | After six years of study, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has approved future expansion at the state Port at Gulfport, which port officials say is crucial for luring new business. "The Port of Gulfport is a major economic driver for Harrison County and the entire Mississippi Gulf Coast," Gov. Phil Bryant said in a news release the port sent out. "The approval of the Environmental Impact Statement marks a significant step toward the port's goal of becoming the port of the future by opening more doors for continued growth, investment and job creation, all of which will benefit the economy for generations to come." Corps approval will allow the port to dredge and fill about 282 acres in the Mississippi Sound, expanding the East and West piers and North Harbor, and creating a breakwater system 4,000 feet long. |
| President Trump will attend Civil Rights Museum opening in Mississippi despite protests, boycotts | |
 | President Donald Trump is attending Saturday's opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the White House confirmed Tuesday. Since Trump's visit was first reported Monday, several civil rights activists say they plan to protest or boycott the event. When asked about possible protests during her regular press conference, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders replied, "I think that would be honestly very sad. This should be something that brings the country together." Several months ago, Gov. Phil Bryant invited Trump to attend the opening of the two museums -- the civil rights museum and the History of Mississippi Museum -- on Saturday, the state's 200th birthday. Mississippi native Joyce Ladner, who was mentored by NAACP leader Medgar Evers before he was assassinated in 1963, said she will no longer attend because Trump opposes what activists fought and died for in the civil rights movement. |
| With President Trump Visit, Protest May Follow Opening of Civil Rights Museum | |
 | A day long anticipated, and for much longer doubted, will finally be here on Saturday: the grand opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the only state-sponsored civil rights museum in the country. Dignitaries of the movement -- including Representative John Lewis, Democrat of Georgia, and Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of the slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers -- are scheduled to speak. Lesser-known veterans of the movement, who had been jailed or beaten, plan on attending, too. And then on Monday another guest was announced: President Trump. To some who see the museum's opening as the fulfillment of a hard-fought dream, the president's visit is seen as a tolerable distraction or even welcomed as an honor. To others, who see the president as racially divisive and hostile to many things they care about, the announced visit was, said Jacqueline Amos, the chairwoman of the Hinds County Democratic Executive Committee, "a slap in the face." |
| White House confirms President Trump to visit Mississippi for Civil Rights Museum opening | |
| President Donald Trump will visit Jackson for the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the White House confirmed on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed the president's visit during a press conference Tuesday afternoon. Gov. Phil Bryant, who was in Washington, D.C., personally asked Trump to attend. "Several months ago, I invited President Trump to our Bicentennial Celebration. We have not received confirmation from the White House that he will be able to attend Saturday's event, but would very much like to have him here," Bryant said through his spokesman Clay Chandler. |
| NAACP: Trump should not attend Mississippi Civil Rights Museum opening | |
 | The NAACP on Tuesday announced opposition to President Trump attending the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum this weekend, saying he has created a "racially hostile climate." "President Trump's statements and policies regarding the protection and enforcement of civil rights have been abysmal, and his attendance is an affront to the veterans of the civil rights movement," Derrick Johnson, president and CEO of the NAACP, said in a statement. The White House confirmed Tuesday that Trump will attend the museum's opening on Saturday in Jackson, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said it was "very sad" that anyone might object to his presence. |
| State auditor: 'Mississippi's got great history'; Pickering visits Lincoln County Republican Women | |
 | At a holiday luncheon for the Lincoln County Republican Women Tuesday, the state's auditor segued from President Trump's expected visit to Jackson to open two world-class museums this weekend to Mississippi's checkbook, yet still managed to work Kermit the Frog, Darth Vader and God into the conversation. Stacey Pickering said he won't be able to attend the openings of the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum but it was "a very good likelihood" that Trump will be there. Since Pickering will be in Atlanta, Georgia, celebrating his in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary, he and his staff were invited to tour the two museums early. "Our future looks bright as a state. We've got a great history and a great legacy. It's colorful. There's good, there's bad, there's ugly -- but I believe our future is bright," Pickering said. |
| AG, governor seek to have polygamists' lawsuit dismissed | |
| Attorney Jim Hood and Gov. Phil Bryant have filed a joint motion to dismiss a lawsuit bought by polygamists. In September, self-identified polygamists filed a federal lawsuit in the state seeking to prevent gay marriages, saying it doesn't pass the constitutional "Lemon test" of prohibition on government favoring one religious view over another. If gay marriage is legal, then polygamy marriage should be legal, the lawsuit said. An amended lawsuit was filed last month with virtually the same language. Three of the four plaintiffs list their address as Salt Lake City, Utah, and the other plaintiff lists an address in Nashville and New York. An amended complaint was filed last month in which a portion of a new sentence says "the plaintiffs have paid taxes in Mississippi and those taxes have gone towards the funds that connect with supporting and recognizing gay marriage." But Hood and attorney Justin Matheny, representing the state, say the amended complaint -- the same as the original -- should be dismissed. |
| U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper named to energy oversight chairmanship | |
| U.S. Rep. Gregg Harper has been named chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. "I'm glad to have Rep. Harper bring his principled leadership to the (subcommittee)," House Energy Chairman Greg Walden, R-Oregon, said in a statement. "Gregg is a good man of deep character and will do excellent work as the subcommittee continues its mission to provide transparency and accountability for hardworking taxpayers all across the country." The subcommittee conducts investigations and provides oversight on telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health and research, energy policy, interstate and foreign policy and any other matters under the jurisdiction of the full committee. Harper, the highest-ranking member of the Mississippi House delegation and only member to hold a full committee chairmanship, will retain his chairmanship of the Committee on House Administration. |
| Experts find tax plan riddled with glitches | |
 | Republicans' tax-rewrite plans are riddled with bugs, loopholes and other potential problems that could plague lawmakers long after their legislation is signed into law. Some of the provisions could be easily gamed, tax lawyers say. Their plans to cut taxes on "pass-through" businesses in particular could open broad avenues for tax avoidance. Others would have unintended results, like a last-minute decision by the Senate to keep the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to make sure wealthy people and corporations don't escape taxes altogether. For many businesses, that would nullify the value of a hugely popular break for research and development expenses. Some provisions are so vaguely written they leave experts scratching their heads, like a proposal to begin taxing the investment earnings of rich private universities' endowments. The legislation H.R. 1 (115) doesn't explain what's considered an endowment, and some colleges have more than 1,000 accounts. |
| GOP Spending Strategy Would Delay Shutdown Showdown | |
 | House Republicans are working on a multistep government funding strategy that involves a two-week stopgap measure to keep the lights on beyond Dec. 8 and fully funding defense by Christmas. No final decisions have been made but the idea GOP leaders have discussed with key conference members is to stick to the plan to pass a continuing resolution through Dec. 22. They then hope to pass a spending bill that would fund defense-related agencies through the end of fiscal 2018 and include another short-term CR for the remaining agencies, likely sometime into mid-to-late January, according to multiple members who participated in a Tuesday afternoon strategy meeting in Speaker Paul D. Ryan's office. House Republicans hope to next come up with an omnibus bill for nondefense agencies to cover the remainder of fiscal 2018. |
| U.S. Decision On Jerusalem Sparks Anger And Concern | |
 | President Trump's plan to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and begin the process to relocate the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem -- has prompted warnings of violence and concern that the move will scuttle any chance at advancing peace efforts. Since 1995, when Congress passed a law ordering the U.S. Embassy to be moved to Jerusalem, successive presidents have issued a series of six-month waivers to forestall the move. During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to allow the embassy to be moved, and on Monday, he allowed a deadline for the next waiver to expire. The White House told reporters on Tuesday that the president would officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital in a speech on Wednesday. The actual establishment of a U.S. Embassy compound in Jerusalem would likely take years. |
| Southern Miss named top 20 university for veterans | |
 | Military Times named the University of Southern Mississippi as one of the Top-20 "Best for Vets" universities in the nation. "We continue to work closely with our Hattiesburg and Long Beach campus faculty and staff leaders to grow in developing new, and unique opportunities for our student-veterans, service members and their families, said Maj. Gen. (ret) Jeff Hammond, director for Veteran and Military Affairs at USM. |
| LSU pays men substantially more than women, report says | |
 | Male LSU faculty earn substantially more --- $20,000 to $30,000 depending on the college where they work --- than females of the same rank, according to the early findings of a study that compares salaries of the flagship's nearly 1,300 faculty members. Christine Cheng, an assistant accounting professor who analyzed the numbers, cautioned that while the wage gaps are startling, the study is still in its preliminary stages. Male professors, for instance, at the LSU Law Center annually make $28,947 on average more than female professors, according to the University Council on Gender Equity study. "The numbers are correct," Cheng said, adding that more work needs to be done to put these figures into context. "Equal pay" has been a perennial debate at the Louisiana Legislature and likely will reemerge during the 2018 session. |
| LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center welcomes new executive director | |
 | LSU's Pennington Biomedical Research Center has a new leader. John Kirwan, director of the Metabolic Translational Research Center and professor of molecular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, was named Tuesday as Pennington's executive director. LSU's governing board is expected to approve the appointment Friday. LSU System President F. King Alexander says Kirwan has a strong record in diabetes-related research, including the discovery that diabetes can sometimes be cured by surgical alteration of the stomach. |
| U. of South Carolina honors slavery past | |
 | On campus, he only was known as Sancho, "a household word to every old student of South Carolina College." Brought to South Carolina from Africa in 1808, Sancho was one of the last slaves to enter the United States before the country banned the international slave trade that year. Sancho and his wife Lucy became the property of Thomas Cooper, president from 1821 to 1833 of what was then South Carolina College, with Sancho becoming a well-known figure on campus. Today, however, Sancho Cooper, as he was known in later life, and an unknown number of other slaves who worked on USC's campus from 1801 to 1865, building parts of the campus still in use, largely have been forgotten by history. On Tuesday, USC took a step toward acknowledging and honoring those who worked to build and maintain the college from its 1801 founding until the end of the Civil War. |
| Missouri students describe painful learning curve in signing leases at new complexes | |
 | Last August when Cordell Cox, 21, moved into Rise on 9th, he thought he was getting a private room. So he was surprised when he entered his apartment for the first time and saw that he would be sharing not just a bedroom with his roommate -- someone he didn't know -- but also a bunk bed. "I'm 21, and now I feel like I'm living in the residence hall again," Cox said. Lease-signing season is in full swing for college students. With the decrease in enrollment at the University of Missouri in recent years, there is more housing than potential tenants, leaving students with many options when choosing where to live. That means more competition among the apartment complexes and more advertising directed at the target market. The offers are so attractive, you might be tempted sign a lease without a full reckoning of what you're getting for your money -- and that might be a lot of money at a downtown apartment complex. |
| Moody's Downgrades Higher Ed's Outlook From 'Stable' to 'Negative' | |
 | The prospects for higher education are bleak, according to Moody's Investors Service, a credit-rating agency that on Tuesday changed its outlook for the sector from "stable" to "negative." In a report, the agency cited financial strains at both public and private four-year institutions, mainly muted growth in tuition revenue. But it also cited "uncertainty at the federal level over potential policy changes." "The higher-education sector is highly exposed to changes in federal policy or funding," the report said. "Changes to financial-aid programs and tax reform could negatively affect enrollment and tuition-revenue growth, philanthropic support, and the cost of borrowing." |
| Uncertainty for grad students as tax bill goes to conference | |
 | As the competing Republican tax plans from the House of Representatives and the Senate head to a conference committee that will square the differences and create a final piece of legislation, graduate students are worried. A group of 40 or so activists and graduate students, organized in part by Faculty Forward and the Service Employees International Union, took their concerns to Capitol Hill Tuesday in a protest outside the office of Representative Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House. Upon coming to the office's locked door, the protesters held their demonstration in the hallway. It was a short-lived affair, with police quickly arresting nine people who declined to move after being given a warning. However, the protest captured the anxiety some graduate students expressed regarding the tax legislation, especially provisions stemming from the House bill. "If it's filled with any, or most of, the provisions aimed at higher ed, then I'll have to drop out of my program," said Tom DePaola, a doctoral candidate in education policy at the University of Southern California and one of the nine protesters arrested. |
| Final Senate Bill Provides Little For Nonprofits | |
| The United States Senate wheeled and dealed Friday night into Saturday morning, voting 51-49 in favor of the most sweeping piece of tax reform in over 30 years. When nonprofit leaders woke up Saturday morning, if they had in fact even gone to bed, few liked what they saw. The end result, from a charitable organization perspective, was much of the same as had been seen in recent weeks -- a doubling of the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for couples, a doubling of the estate tax exemption to about $11 million for individuals and $22 million for couples, and the preservation of the Johnson Amendment -- supported by much of the sector and repealed in the House bill -- which prohibits 501(c)(3)s from engaging in partisan politics. Leadership at the American Council on Education (ACE) was pleased to see language taxing revenue from trademark and logo licensing removed from the bill, said Steven M. Bloom, director of government relations. ACE leadership's short-term goal is to prevent House language from seeping into the Senate bill during conferences. |
SPORTS
| Mississippi State's Joe Moorhead hires Fordham head coach Andrew Breiner | |
| It's not often that Fordham's head football coach resigning makes headlines in Mississippi. But in Andrew Breiner's case it does. Breiner stepped down from his post with the Rams on Tuesday to join Joe Moorhead's staff at Mississippi State as quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator. Moorhead is certainly familiar with Breiner's work. The two served on the same staff for three years at Connecticut and Breiner served as Moorhead's offensive coordinator for four seasons at Fordham. When Moorhead left the Rams to become offensive coordinator at Penn State following the 2015 season, it was Breiner who was internally promoted as Fordham's head coach. Breiner is the second staff hire Moorhead has made since taking the MSU job last week. Moorhead brought in Charles Huff to be the Bulldogs' assistant head coach, run game coordinator and running backs coach. |
| Mississippi State to hire Fordham's Andrew Breiner to lead passing game | |
| Joe Moorhead is adding an expert of his offense to his Mississippi State coaching staff. Fordham head coach Andrew Breiner is set to join Mississippi State as the Bulldogs' new quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator, sources confirmed on Tuesday. The news was first reported by The Athletic. Breiner was promoted to head coach at Fordham in December 2015 after Moorhead left the Rams to be Penn State's offensive coordinator. Breiner served as the offensive coordinator for four years at Fordham after serving as a graduate assistant the previous three years with Moorhead at UConn. Breiner led Fordham to an 8-3 record last season in his first year as head coach. |
| Mississippi State's Martinas Rankin accepts Senior Bowl invitation | |
| Mississippi State left tackle Martinas Rankin will have one more game following the TaxSlayer Bowl later this month. Rankin accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl, which will take place on Jan. 27 at Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Alabama. The 6-foot-5, 315-pounder from Mendenhall was a second team All-SEC pick and won the Kent Hull Trophy. Rankin appeared in 22 games and made 18 starts over his two seasons with the Bulldogs after transferring in from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Rankin is the 91st Senior Bowl selection from MSU and at least one Bulldog has been chosen every year since 1995. |
| Mississippi State's Tyson Carter named SEC Player of Week | |
| Mississippi State sophomore guard Tyson Carter was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Monday by the league office and College Sports Madness. It is the first weekly award for the former standout from Starkville High School. Carter helped MSU improve to 7-0 for the first time since the 2003-04 season by scoring a career-high 35 points against North Dakota State. He added 20 points Sunday in a 61-59 victory against Dayton. "It's nice to get this honor, but I like the fact we are undefeated more," he said. "I have been confident in my shooting, and my shots have been falling. A lot of credit goes to my coaches and teammates for getting me into the position to have success." MSU will play host to North Georgia at 4 p.m. Saturday to close a season-opening eight-game homestand. |
| Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District names Cheyenne Trussell new AD | |
| Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District won't have to worry about a gap in leadership for its athletic department when Melvin Smith retires at the end of December. Board members voted to name Cheyenne Trussell the district's next athletic director during a Monday special-call meeting. Trussell, who currently works as the Hattiesburg Public School District's athletic director, will follow Smith, who will end his stint as SOCSD's athletic director at the end of the month. SOCSD Superintendent Eddie Peasant recommended Trussell's hire to the board during the meeting. The district will formally introduce Trussell with a 2:15 p.m. Wednesday press conference in the Starkville High School library. The three board members present at Monday's meeting -- Vice President Lee Brand, Assistant Secretary Melissa Luckett and member Debra Prince -- each voted in favor of Trussell's hire. |
| Ole Miss lifts restrictions on football players seeking transfer | |
| Ole Miss is lifting all restrictions on any football player wishing to transfer out of the program after some pushback from such players, their families and the legal counsel representing them. Safety Deontay Anderson, linebacker Jarrion Street, receiver Tre Nixon, quarterback Shea Patterson and receiver Van Jefferson made known their intent to transfer before Tuesday while third-year sophomore cornerback Jalen Julius announced with a post to his Twitter account Tuesday morning that he will also transfer. Anderson, Street, Nixon and Jefferson have retained the services of Arkansas-based attorney Thomas Mars, who also famously represented Houston Nutt in his lawsuit against the school that's since been settled out of court. |
| Shea Patterson Plans Official Visit to Michigan As Ole Miss Players Seek Transfers | |
| Jim Harbaugh's issues finding a quarterback at Michigan could soon be rectified. Gifted Ole Miss quarterback Shea Patterson is set to take an official visit to Ann Arbor, along with Rebels safety Deontay Anderson, a source told SI. Word is there also might be more Rebels visiting Michigan in hopes of potentially transferring there. Patterson does have a connection on the Michigan staff. In 2012 he committed to Arizona, where Matt Dudek was the Wildcats' recruiting cooridnator; Dudek is now the Wolverines' recruiting coordinator. In addition, Cesar Ruiz, who was Patterson's center when the two were at IMG Academy in Florida, is now at Michigan, where he made three starts at right guard as a freshman this fall. Ole Miss players have been given their release to transfer in the wake of hefty NCAA sanctions just handed down to the Rebels. |
| SEC Media Days departure will cost Hoover area $600,000 | |
 | The SEC's decision to move the annual media days out of Hoover will cost the Birmingham metro area an estimated $600,000. According to the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau, the more than 1,500 journalists, fans and teams that attend the event spend that much at area Birmingham hotels, restaurants and gas stations. SEC Media Days, which serves as the conference's annual kickoff event to mark the new football season, has been held in Hoover at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham - Wynfrey Hotel for the last 17 years. Next year will mark the first time since 1985 that SEC Media Days will not be held in the Birmingham area. Next year's annual media days event will be held in Atlanta at the College Football Hall of Fame from July 16-19, 2018. The greatest loss, arguably though, is the national attention SEC Media Days brought to Hoover. |
| U. of Arkansas closing in on deal with SMU's Chad Morris, sources say | |
| The Arkansas Razorbacks didn't land their top target Gus Malzahn to be their head football coach, but they appear on the verge of hiring a Texas-based version of Malzahn. Multiple sources with knowledge of the situation told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that SMU Coach Chad Morris was involved in negotiations with University of Arkansas, Fayetteville officials and on the brink of an agreement Tuesday evening. Morris, who turned 49 on Monday, became a top target for Arkansas after Malzahn spurned an offer from the Razorbacks on Sunday to return to his old stomping grounds. Malzahn had been on Arkansas' radar since interim athletic director Julie Cromer Peoples fired fifth-year coach Bret Bielema on Nov. 24. |
| LSU expanding, renovating bathrooms in Tiger Stadium's south end zone | |
 | More bathroom space is coming to the south end zone of Tiger Stadium, according to the agenda from LSU's board of supervisors meeting released Tuesday. The Tiger Athletic Foundation is set to spend $2.75 million renovating 3,645 square feet of bathrooms while also adding on roughly 1,900 square feet of additional bathrooms. The renovation and addition of bathroom space is part of a continuing process to upgrade Tiger Stadium, which opened in 1924. Construction is set to be approved by the LSU board on Friday at their December meeting. The lease is set to go into place on Jan. 15, 2018, with construction to begin before Feb. 1. If all goes as planned, construction would be complete by Aug. 31, 2018. |
| LiAngelo Ball Leaves U.C.L.A. Without Having Played a Game | |
| In the latest dramatic development for the Ball family, LiAngelo Ball, the U.C.L.A. freshman basketball player who recently got into legal trouble while in China, will leave the team. "We learned today of LiAngelo Ball's intention to withdraw from U.C.L.A.," the Bruins' coach, Steve Alford, said in a statement. "We respect the decision he and his family have made, and we wish him all the best in the future." TMZ Sports initially reported the news that LiAngelo Ball would not return, and ESPN later confirmed the news with Ball's father, LaVar, who said his son was leaving the school entirely. Lonzo Ball, LiAngelo's older brother, starred for U.C.L.A. last season before departing for the N.B.A. after his freshman year. LiAngelo Ball's problems at U.C.L.A. started with a disastrous trip to China with the team, during which he and three teammates were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting. |
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