One thanked and acknowledged God and may have been reading the Bible during this trial. May we extend love and mercy, not judgment.
“If I have not love...I am nothing.” ~ Saint Paul, 1 Corinthians 13
I consider it unlikely that the players composed the statements themselves, and therefore I attribute the use of “mistake” to the school authorities.
Here’s my “judgment”: They stole from a store and got caught. They will not be subject to criminal penalties. I hope they will remember the fear they felt as detainees in Red China and will be decent, law-abiding people from now on.
I would say exactly the same thing if one of my own children were in a similar situation. “Dodged a bullet, kid. Now LEARN.”