Anyone who managed to watch the Cincinnati-Xavier basketball game over the weekend saw one more example of a college sports program gone awry. These two teams are cross-town rivals and heated and very competitive games are the norm for these two programs when they face off. Unfortunately, over the last fifteen years or so, these games have turned into brawls rather than basketball games.
Saturday’s game was all about Xavier having their way. Cincinnati’s frustration boiled over at the very end of the game and an actual fist fight broke out. Cincinnati has had the reputation for years of brawling on the court and more specifically, just being a bunch of undisciplined bullies on the court. Saturday’s game was one more example of it. Bob Huggins, former Cincinnati coach, loved his team’s reputation as being tough and aggressive. He nurtured the type of environment that encouraged players to play with a chip on their shoulder.
Xavier’s key players haven’t always helped the situation with their trash talking too. Both programs deserve some level of culpability for allowing incidents to mar what is usually a very competitive, fun-to-watch basketball game. These players refer to themselves as gangsters. That in and of itself tells you something is wrong with these programs. They should be student athletes, not gangsters. Both teams always play hard but there is always an undercurrent to these games. I believe it is encouraged by universities, the coaches and the fans.
Occasionally, a player might lose his cool in a big, important and very competitive game. It happens. Everyone understands. This game is different. The players, coaches and fans go into the game knowing that something might happen. It really is unacceptable in today’s college game and both programs need to step-up and make sure that such a display between their two teams never happens again. Either fix it or take each other off each other’s schedule.
If I was a member of the NCAA discipline group, I would hit both programs pretty hard. I would send a loud and clear message letting them know that they run the risk of losing eligibility for such a display of poor sportsmanship. I would suspend players who threw punches. I would suspend players who came off the benches. The result of such suspensions could render both teams without enough players to play their next two-three games. I would be okay with that. Automatic forfeits seem in order to stop this type of behavior.
It must be stopped. If not, at some point someone is going to get hurt. Then college basketball will spill over into the courts and the legal system will find a way to stop the violence.
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