Xavier Cincinnati fight

[paul253]

Did anyone see this? Here is a youtube link to the story:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgbvdFW5qoQ

 

I realize this is college and not the NBA, but crap like this is why I'm so turned off by basketball. I don't remember this ever happening in college this bad but it's gone on in the pros a few times in recent memory. The thing that absolutely disgusts me most about this crap is that the people fight like a bunch of.....well the only word I can say on this board is wussies but you get my point. Watch Yancy Gates closely. First of all, he takes an absolute cheap shot at that Freese player from Xavier. Freese, as shown in the slow motion replay, wasn't even looking at Gates. Then, as soon as Gates punches him, he quickly takes three or four steps back to prevent anyone from hitting him back. Absolute garbage and the act of a coward. Another thing I noticed is some player from Cincinnati charging at a Xavier player who was just coming off the bench. I don't know what, if anything, this player said to the Cincinnati guy, but he turned around just in time to defend himself. Another cowardly act. As far as I'm concerned, Gates should be thrown off the team. At the absolute very least, suspended for the rest of the year.

 

People always talk about fighting in hockey, but fighting in hockey doesn't even compare to this. In hockey, the vast majority of the time it's one on one. Teammates do not join in usually and will actually knock helmets and gloves away so the two fighting don't trip over them. Then, when someone hits the ice the fight is over and both players skate away. That's it. Nobody is swinging at someone from behind and then skating away before he gets hurt. Nobody is jumping off the bench. Every now and then you get a 5 on 5 thing going, but even that usually ends on it's own. And the best part about that is anyone who wants to take a shot at someone else can't just run away and hide behind his teammates like Yancy Gates did.

 

I enjoy watching a good sports fight as much as the next guy, but swinging at someone who isn't looking at you and then running away isn't a fight.

[burnzy24]

As far as I'm concerned, Gates should be thrown off the team. At the absolute very least, suspended for the rest of the year.

As should the guy (#13) who stomped/kicked Frease's head after he fell to the ground after being punched. What a bunch of idiots. Haven't these players ever seen the clip of when Kermit Washington almost killed Rudy Tom Johnavich.

[NeedMoreFans]

Gates also threw the basketball as hard as he could have at the guys who initially got in the fight. This was one of the crazier basketball fights I had seen in a while.

[paul253]

I actually went to a UC message board on major recruiting website, and it was hilarious listening to some people try to rationalize this. I'd say probably half of the posters said the kind of stuff we said, about how stupid the players were, but others were actually defending the players. It was basically a "well they started it" type thing. Quite honestly both teams were equally at fault. This wasn't a one person thing. Xavier's guys were talking a lot of trash and one of their players initially threw down a UC player that caused the benches to empty. But it looked like the player he threw down was about to push or hit a Xavier. Either way, just stupid. I hope Gates is gone. There's no room for that kind of thuggery in college basketball.

[burnzy24]

Gates only gets a 6 game ban.

 

Pathetic. Cinci's coach was talking so big after the game about how he needs to decide if people will still be on the team and then issues this puny punishment.

[paul253]

Without even looking at the schedule, I'm going to guess that Cincinnati has 6 non conference games left. This is pathetic. Can't the NCAA do something and issue their own suspensions? Why is this up to the school?

[valpocrewsader]

I don't remember this ever happening in college this bad

 

It just happened four months ago when the thugs of Georgetown went over to China and turned a goodwill basketball game into a major brawl. That was an equal disgrace.

[paul253]

Ah that's right. I remember seeing the Chinese guys just pulverizing Georgetown's players. G'Town was outnumbered like 2-1 it seemed.

[Glennron]

Gates only gets a 6 game ban.

 

Pathetic. Cinci's coach was talking so big after the game about how he needs to decide if people will still be on the team and then issues this puny punishment.

 

"Before any of them put a uniform back on they will apologize and

that's just the first step before putting the uniform back on," Cronin

told ESPN.com Sunday. "Just because the press release says what it says

that doesn't mean they're all back. They're going to sit in front of a

camera and say how sorry they are and how grateful they are for getting a

second chance.

"If I don't believe it then they won't be

on the team -- and if they don't demonstrate that they won't ever put on

a jersey again -- period," Cronin said. "They're going to sit in front

of a camera and say it. I can tell the difference as to how genuine they

are. The university issued the suspensions and I supported it. But for

me it's different. I have the autonomy to not let anybody back on the

team."

Sounds like it could still be more than the six games.

 

[monkeyman343434]

I don't remember this ever happening in college this bad

 

It just happened four months ago when the thugs of Georgetown went over to China and turned a goodwill basketball game into a major brawl. That was an equal disgrace.

Thugs of Georgetown? really? did you even see the clip of what happened? The Chinese team was trying to start crap the entire time. I'm not even a Georgetown fan but I can't believe you are trying to pin that on them.

 

[DHonks]

Interesting, since I viewed the problems being more with Xavier. Cinci's players might be thugs...heck, they've always been that way as long as I can remember. But Xavier's have as well, and it all started with Xavier's guy talking smack before halftime, then shoving the guy that instigates the melee. I thought Cinci's punishments were weak, but I thought Xavier's were pathetic.

[NeedMoreFans]

I'm not sure if any of you saw Xavier's post game interview, but a couple of the guys involved were very unapologetic, and said "we have gangstas in the locker room" or something along those lines. I guess the coach was floored when he saw the interview later that day. I know that rivalry is very heated. A good friend of mine went to Xavier, and I remember him having a t-shirt that said "Catholics vs. Convicts" on it, and that was well over 10 years ago.

[valpocrewsader]

Thugs of Georgetown? really? did you even see the clip of what happened? The Chinese team was trying to start crap the entire time. I'm not even a Georgetown fan but I can't believe you are trying to pin that on them.

Yes, they've always been thugs. They always encouraged cocky, ghetto, in-your-face, smack-talking thuggery in their heyday, and later when they didn't have enough thugs their coach went on record to say, "we need more thugs". In the China incident, #21 (I think) from Georgetown clearly swings the first punch ... it was justice that he missed like a clown and then got smacked good in retaliation.

 

 

[paul253]

But Xavier's have as well, and it all started with Xavier's guy talking

smack before halftime, then shoving the guy that instigates the melee

 

Just to be clear, I didn't mean to make it sound like I was blaming Cincinnati. Xavier was very much at fault as well. The "gangstas" comment was just embarrassing. They are a Jesuit School for pete's sake. If I were the head of that school I'd throw him off the team myself. A read a comment on a Cincinnati board where one of the posters said something like "this is what happens when the athletic teams are not at all representative of the actual student body".

 

As far as starting it, I don't know. The Xavier and Cincinnati players were arguing. To me it looked like just before the Xavier guy shoved the Cincinnati player to the ground, the Cincinnati player actually put his hands on the Xavier player first. I'm not saying that the response was even close to being reasonable, but I do think the Cincinnati guy actually started the physical aspect of it all.