The "Fight" for the SEC Championship
The Instigation
In the midst of the SEC Championship game, an unwanted brawl between the number 1 South Carolina Gamecocks and the number 2 LSU Tigers broke out. South Carolina's Milaysia Fulwiley had stolen the ball from LSU point guard, Hailey Van Lith. LSU then decided to foul Fulwiley to prevent her from getting an easy bucket. After this foul, Fulwiley and her teammate celebrated, accidentally running into one of LSU's players, Flaujee Johnson. Johnson was angry at this bump, so she pushed one of South Carolina's players as she was heading back to the bench. This in fumed Kamilla Cardoso, the post for the Gamecocks, as she then pushed Flaujee straight to the ground, as all chaos broke loose. Both of the team's benches rose towards the fight, either trying to stop it or to instigate more. The referees and head coaches both had to bring the team's back to their benches, as they then took a long time reviewing the fight, ultimately ejected 4 of the Gamecock's players that were on the bench, including Cardoso. Three of LSU's players also had been ejected as they stood up from the bench, but surprisingly, Flaujee Johnson got to stay in the game. We can all imagine the great tension that had to exist as the game continued after this fight.
The Fan Interaction
As the push from Kamilla Cardoso to Flaujee Johnson stunned the whole crowd, it really hit hard to Johnson's brother, Trayron Milton, as he charged the court. Once he jumped over the scorers table, he briefly made eye contact with Cardoso, hoping to size her up. Seeing the 6'7 height of Cardoso must have intimidated him, as he then just backed off, realizing that what he had done was a mistake. But what if he hadn't stopped, what if he tried to endure this fight? Apparently, to even reach the court, Milton had to push down an SEC employee, as he then stepped onto their shoulders to make it on to the court. As the Greenville Police evaluated Milton's actions, they ended up charging him with assault and battery and disorderly conduct, two misdemeanors. He was later released from jail on Monday from bail. All in all, when someone runs onto the court, we never know their true intentions. Whenever fans have stormed the court, even in celebration, players are vulnerable to any disaster waiting to happen, leading to injuries.
Scary Storms
This season alone, we have seen multiple storm rushes that have almost led into severe injuries for NCAA players. Iowa's Caitlin Clark, obtained a minor injury from a court storm along with Kyle Filipowski of Duke suffered a knee injury from Wake Forest students rushing after they defeated Duke. This is all child's play compared to what could really happen during this fan and player encounters. A severe injury, and accident of assault that could ultimately end someone's season. As court storming is often dismissed for a happy celebration, when 15,000 people rush a small court at once, something bad is inevitable to happen. This season has most definitely shown the NCAA that we need more protection in this areas, as accidents from court storming have been dated back to 60 years ago. Court storms should truly only happen after a win from a home team beating a rival and so forth, but with all the upsets in today's game of college basketball, they seem to occur way more frequently. A new stance by arena court guards have been taken, as they now plan to just detain all who run onto the court in an instance where they shouldn't necessarily need to. The safety of the players and their coaches needs to be the top priority in college basketball, not the rush of fans from storming courts.
What's Ahead
You may wonder, what will happen to the players who got ejected in the SEC championship game in the upcoming tournament? All players who stood up from each benches, not necessarily engaging in contact, are able to return to the next game that each team will player. Although, for Cardoso, it's a different story. She will not be able to play in the tournament until the 2nd round, as the Gamecocks lose their starting post for their first game upcoming in the tournament. All in all, was the fight really worth it? To miss out in the celebration with your team for winning the SEC Championship, and even to miss a whole round in the tournament? Tensions do get high in big games, but players need to learn to control themselves and focus on what really matters in their basketball career.
Your blog post really nailed the drama of the SEC Championship game brawl and its aftermath. You did a great job explaining how things escalated and the consequences for the players involved. I especially liked how you talked about the dangers of fans rushing the court and how it can lead to injuries. It's clear you know your stuff about basketball and the issues surrounding it.
ReplyDeleteHi, I'm Sumedh Girish. The whole drama of such a game is crazy. It's understandable to see how such events can unfold in the heat of qualifying for events and getting sponsors and deals. There are inevitably going to be winners and losers and I believe that both teams should have equally respected the outcome without picking on a fight with one another. There should be further interventions taken at such events to help prevent various injuries and feelings of others get hurt. Ultimately, it comes down to the core qualities of respect and empathy that people should have and more value should be put on the emphasis on sportsmanship to avoid such conflicts happen like this in the near future.
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