A college basketball game between two rivalries turned physical, resulting in Silvio De Sousa getting suspended indefinitely by the Big 12 Conference.
What We Know:
- Kansas forward, Silvio De Sousa is one of four players suspended after they were involved in a brawl on Wednesday between Kansas and Kansas State. De Sousa was seen raising a stool over his head in attempt to use it as an instrument during the fight. The stool was recovered by the assistant coach.
- Kansas Coach Bill Self made the decision to suspend De Sousa indefinitely after he promised there would be consequences following the fight, read his full statement here.
- Among the Kansas State players suspended was James Love III who was suspended for eight games, Antonio Gordon for three games and Kansas’ David McCormack who has been suspended for two games.
- “This kind of behavior cannot be tolerated and these suspensions reflect the severity of last evening’s events,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement. “I am appreciative of the cooperation of both institutions in resolving this matter.”
- De Sousa released a statement on Twitter acknowledging his wrongdoing. “There is no excuse for my behavior, and I cannot justify the unreasonable choices that I made yesterday on the court,” De Sousa said in his statement. “I not only showed a lack of sportsmanship, but I put myself, my teammates and the fans in danger.” De Sousa ended his statement by writing, “I messed up and I am sorry.”
I’m sorry for my actions last night, please read this: pic.twitter.com/cmkEO0I5Ax
— Silvio De Sousa ™ (@SilvioDeSousa5) January 23, 2020
- The brawl between the two teams began after De Sousa blocked DaJuan Gordon’s shot in the final seconds of the game and proceeded to stand over Gordon.
- “Obviously it’s an embarrassment,” Self said after the game. “It’s not something to be proud of. What happened showed zero signs of toughness. It’s a sign of immaturity and selfishness more so than toughness.”
- This is not the first time De Sousa has been in the spotlight for his involvement between his team and the NCAA which recently issued a notice of allegations following the forward’s ties to an ongoing FBI investigation. The notice outlined major violations and alleged lack of institutional control against Self.
Kansas and Kansas State meet again Feb. 29 in Manhattan.
