Kansas, Kansas State Brawl Should Serve as Lesson for Players and Media
Robin Lundberg Take (video transcript):
What happened between Kansas and Kansas State was bad. Really bad. But there’s nothing to be gained from using it to have an outrage contest to see who can condemn a college kid the hardest.
Because if the NCAA is so insistent on enforcing amateur status, we have to remember the participants in the melee were not professionals but mostly teenagers or young men in their early 20s.
Related article: Ugly Brawl With K-State Another Embarrassment for Kansas
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Now that doesn’t mean there shouldn’t be discipline and that it shouldn’t be significant. There are repercussions for actions and school is where you are supposed to learn lessons. And while of course the players involved should know better, those of us who profess that we do should know not to treat this situation the same as we would for pros, as there needs to be room for growth.
It doesn’t appear anyone was hurt and if you’ve been out on the court enough you’ve seen tempers flare. Now grabbing a chair a la Ric Flair and cooler heads not prevailing took this to another level. But you can’t laugh at a meme and then spew venom about what it all means.
The university’s and coaches need to send a message but we in the media don’t need to be proportionate to the brawl and make the reaction extra. Trust me, everyone gets it.
