Three UCLA athletes were caught shoplifting. What does that say about the U.S. culture of entitlement?
“UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said that the players each admitted guilt and that charges had been withdrawn by Chinese authorities,” The Washington Post reported. “They had paid $2,200 bail, surrendered their passports and agreed to travel restrictions. The bail was refunded. UCLA paid the expenses incurred by the players who were left behind when the rest of the team returned home, but said they may seek reimbursement.”
The three players each read statements offering apologies for their bad behavior.
“I take full responsibility for the mistakes I have made, shoplifting” Cody Riley said.
Jalen Hill said, “What I did was stupid. There’s no other way to put it, and I am not that kind of person.”
LiAngelo Ball said he was sorry for stealing from the stores in China, continuing, “I’m a young man, however it’s not an excuse for making a really stupid decision.”
At one point Ball said, “I also want to let everyone one know this does not define who I am. My family raised me better than that.”
But did they?
This is what Ball’s father, LaVar Ball, a bombastic figure who is all about balling and the bling incessantly touting the family’s expensive “Big Baller Brand” clothing and shoes, told ESPN: “Everybody is making it a big deal. It ain’t that big of a deal.’’
His father has thus far shown no indication that what his son did was bad, very bad. The family is all about showing off and entitlement.
In an episode of their Facebook reality show “Ball In The Family,” LaVar brags about getting his 16-year-old son a Lamborghini and how it wouldn’t change him, he wasn’t being spoiled.
[Read more: S1:E10 Happy Birthday, Big Boy]
[Read more: LaMelo Ball live streams LiAngelo getting a Ferrari]
On an episode of “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” LiAngelo Ball’s big brother Lonzo, a Los Angeles Laker rookie, said this about the family-brand sneakers priced between $495 and $695 a pair, “If you’re not dedicated and disciplined enough to go do whatever to go get the shoes, you’re not a big baller.”
NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” did a brilliant skit summing up the Ball family patriarch.
I watched the skit with Keenan Thompson playing Ball selling a $1 million sneaker that had a sound system and a rotisserie chicken cooker.
It was a funny parody. But it’s not so amusing that those UCLA basketball players felt entitled to steal when they have so much and so much to lose.
Color of Money question of the week
What does the three UCLA shoplifting athletes say about the U.S. culture of entitlement? Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put “UCLA” in the subject line. Please include your name, city and state.
Live chat today
I’m live every Thursday from noon (ET) to 1 p.m. to take your personal finance questions. This week let’s talk about open enrollment season. Joining me will be Carolyn McClanahan, a physician turned certified financial planner. McClanahan, who is the founder of the fee-only Life Planning Partners based in Jacksonville, Fla. She’ll be available to answer your general open enrollment questions.
I always enjoy having McClanahan as a guest. She’s got great insight into helping folks navigate tough financial issues. Read the transcript from a previous chat on retirement planning.
To join the conversation today about open enrollment click here.
She posted a photo of herself giving Trump the finger. She lost her job. Was her firing fair?
A Virginia woman out riding her bike on her own time flashed her middle finger at President Trump’s passing motorcade. The photo of Juli Briskman went viral. Briskman posted the photo on her Facebook and Twitter pages. She then told her company about the photo and postings. The company, Akima, a government contractor, let her go.
So last week I asked: Did Briskman deserve to lose her job for exercising her freedom of speech? I also wanted to know if you thought an employer should fire a worker over a social-media post.
The overwhelming majority of those who responded thought Briskman deserved to be fired. Nonetheless, Briskman has a lot of supporters for her statement.
[Read more: A GoFundMe for the bicyclist fired for flipping off the President’s motorcade has raised over $100,000]
Dave Meier of Dallas wrote, “Yes, she should be fired. It’s beyond disrespectful. But from a company perspective, I’d go further and say what company wants an employee who either does not understand basic corporate policies to follow, or does understand and deliberately flouts them? That she is a single mom, I hope she is retrospective about this, and thinks about what message this picture, this action, her violation of the company’s policies sends to her children.”
“The person in question absolutely should have been let go,” wrote Lloyd Davis of Flower Mound, Tex. “She intentionally uploaded a photo to her social media page that could have harmed her employer. With her background in marketing, she cannot claim to have no knowledge of how this might impact her employer. I blame the media for making our president (not my choice) a target of constant, daily derision/ridicule.”
Teresa Woods of Omaha wrote, “I don’t feel that anyone should disrespect the president regardless of who’s in office. It’s like disrespecting your elders.”
“Employers have a perfect right to fire employees whose social media postings that reflect poorly on both the employee and the employer,” wrote Rick Uhlig of Bonita Springs, Fla. “Many employers scan social media of prospective employees during the interview and evaluation process. A history of inappropriate postings can doom job prospects, and people ought to realize that. That said, I sure wish Trump would cease his tweets, especially those personal attacks.”
Lorna Gilkey, Alexandria, Va., wrote, “Briskman did not deserve to lose her job over flipping off the so-called president. However, once she took the viral photo and made it her profile picture on Twitter and Facebook, she in essence welcomed the response from her employer, which has a clear social media policy. I am loathed to support any company that fires an employee for something so simple done during their private time, but we all have to be judicial in our posting decisions.”
Larry Heineman of Sunrise, Fla., wrote, “Ms. Briskman’s gesture is First Amendment expression. The wrongful termination suit will explore her posting on social media as a violation of company policy. She will probably lose.”
K. S. Lubinsky of Galloway, Ohio, wrote, “Anyone with any amount of integrity would not post this on their personal Facebook or Twitter account. Honestly, I would have felt inclined to do the same thing she did as the motorcade passed by, but I would have NEVER posted it. That is where the mistake was made and then to add insult to injury she informed her employer that she posted the picture. Unfortunately she lost her position which is the consequence to the action of posting on the social media sites. Yes, she did not mention her employer but it would have been just a matter of time before it was found out. It’s common sense, people. Quit sharing so much information and risking losing a good job. Whether you are on the clock or not, you represent the company you work for. Next time, flip off the motorcade in your mind!”
Color of Money columns this week
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