This week in violence in sports, Kansas basketball players were involved in fighting with the Kansas football players. In a news conference, basketball coach Bill Self said that this fight is bad for the whole university. He and a few of his players met with reporters Thursday for the first time since fighting erupted Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning at two different sites on the normally peaceful campus
During this altercation basketball guard Tyshawn Taylor injured his finger and will be sidelined for up to a month. He was apparently one of the main instigators and posted on his Facebook page that he had injured his finger "throwing a punch.” Taylor stated that "I'm embarrassed because of the situation," he said. "It's a situation that none of us should have gotten into. We embarrassed our campus, our university, both teams, and it's just a situation that shouldn't have happened. Looking back at it, it was just really stupid. I wish I could take it back."
"We don't act like this," Self said. "To me, somebody asked me how did Tyshawn dislocate his thumb? My reply was: I don't care. It doesn't make any difference to me. The fact is that it happened. The reason it happened was because a really small group of individuals put selfish motives ahead of what was really important."
Self and senior guard Sherron Collins came to Taylor's defense."It's not just Tyshawn," Collins said. "It was a group of individuals from both sides that let egos and pride get involved in something that could have been resolved. We let something small become something big. We as a team, we accept this all together. Not everyone had something to do with it, but we are all together as a team."
As of right now the Kansas football team is unbeaten in three games and ranked No. 20. Self's basketball team could be ranked as high as No. 1 in the preseason poll. The incidents, possibly the continuation of bad blood that had been simmering between the two groups for more than a year, drew quick condemnation from school administrators. Self was out of town on a recruiting trip and did not get back in time for a hurried meeting of basketball and football players that athletic director Lew Perkins called Wednesday evening."It's very disturbing to me," Self said. "I've coached a lot of great kids, and Tyshawn Taylor definitely fits that bill. His judgment in what he posted on his Facebook is totally inexcusable and it was done in very poor taste. So even though they may not be his words and they may be words of lyrics to songs he listens to and likes, it's still something that isn't to be put out there like that. I do think it's offensive."
Violence is sport’s is not just happening on the field and this matter keeps getting worse. It almost seems that athletes should take a anger management class so they know how to control themselves in a stressful situation.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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This story was unbelieveable. Both of these teams are some of the best in the country at what they do. They should be out supporting each other. It is good that they realize this situation never should have come up. I really hope they can work this out and go back to doing what they do best.
ReplyDeleteI agree both of these teams are at the top of their game. They are not just embarrassing themselves they are embarrassing the university. It makes them look like thugs instead of collegiate athletes.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe this story when I first heard it. Kansas is one of the few schools that are successful in both football and basketball. It would be common sense to believe that the two teams respect and cheer for each other but I guess that is not true. The two teams need to forgive each other and they should both start to focus on gaining spots in their respective polls. Both teams have a lot of talent and potential and it would be a shame if someone's season got cut short by a petty fight.
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