College basketball showed it's ugly side Saturday in Cincinnati in the annual grudge match between U.C. and Xavier. Xavier was blowing out the Bearcats and in the final seconds things turned very ugly. Two Xavier players, Dezmine Wells and star player, Tu Holloway shoved Bearcat's player Ge'Lawn Guyn to the floor. That prompted a fight and bench clearing that ended with officials calling the game with time left on the clock. NJ Star-Ledger Sportswriter Brendan Prunty paints the picture:
In the ensuing melee, several players on both sides were seen swinging punches as the benches cleared. Television replays showed Cincinnati center Yancy Gates punch Xavier's Kenny Frease in the face and take a swing at another player who had come off of the Musketeers' bench.
After being struck, Frease staggered to the floor only to come up bleeding heavily from the left side of his face.
"That’s what you’re going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati," Holloway said after the game. "We got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We’re a tougher team. We’re grown men over here. We’ve got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room—not thugs, but tough guys on the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game."
No Mr. Holloway, you are a student athlete. You are not "gangsters"! Your logic is flawed and your immaturity is glaring. You are not grown men. Grown men do not behave this way. Perhaps you should read up about the greats of your game who paved the way for you and other current players who enjoy the privileges of an NCAA Division 1 basketball scholarship. People like John Wooden, Bill Russell, Dean Smith, Henry Iba, Tony Hinkle, Pete Maravich, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird. I think you will find that your definition of great players and sportsmanship is totally opposite of what they accomplished in the days before "one and done", and pampered student athletes. Your attitude and words are the exact reason why the word, "thug" (your word not mine) is so appropriate. Thugs throw punches. Thugs talk about being "disrespected", spew verbal trash and think that Tweeting your feelings is more important than shaking the hand of your opponent after a hard fought game, win or lose! Mr. Holloway your brand of basketball is not mine. Let your words be spoken on the court. Learn to treat your opponent with respect even in the face of a loss. And by all means please learn how to win with grace and humility because at the end of the day there is always someone better than you, or me on the court, in the work place, and life.
1 comment:
Yes... The culture of entitlement and the culture of violence and the culture of the Jersey Shore generation just clashed. And maybe the culture of what we too often see modeled by our leaders. With every new day, I think we may be seeing the end of college sports as we have known it- and that is very sad..
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