LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) No. 3 Kansas suspended forward Silvio De Sousa indefinitely Wednesday for his role in the Jayhawks’ brawl with Kansas State near the end of their game.
De Sousa was the main instigator on the Kansas side, but he may not be the only one facing punishment. Several other players that left the bench and were involved in an ugly fracas that spilled into disability seating behind one of the baskets in Allen Fieldhouse on Tuesday night.
At one point, De Sousa was preparing to swing a stool when assistant coach Jerrance Howard grabbed it from his hands.
”I have suspended Silvio De Sousa indefinitely pending the final outcome of the review by KU and the Big 12 Conference,” coach Bill Self said. ”As I said last night, we are disappointed in his actions and there is no place in the game for that behavior.”
Self also said he spoke with a fan who was caught up in the melee, and that she was banged around ”to the point where I’m sure we’ll correspond with her today to see how she’s feeling.”
The Jayhawks were dribbling out the clock when De Sousa was stripped by DaJuan Gordon near mid-court. Gordon tried to go for a layup and De Sousa recovered to block his shot and send the freshman sprawling. He then stood over Gordon and barked at him,triggering both benches to empty and come together in a scrum as fans scrambled to get out of the way.
The Jayhawks’ Marcus Garrett and David McCormick were also in the thick of things along with the Wildcats’ James Love and David Sloan, who was the first player to come to Gordon’s defense.
”The incident last night was not good for Kansas, it was not good for Kansas State, it was not good for college basketball,” Kansas State coach Bruce Weber said Wednesday. ”There’s many people to blame and I’m the head of our program so it falls back on me.”
Both Self and Weber said the Big 12 was reviewing video with more punishment likely.
”There will be consequences- … there will be consequences, there will be penalties,” Self said.
The Jayhawks won the game 80-61. The two schools are scheduled to meet again Feb. 29 at Kansas State.
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