“I messed up and I am sorry” – Silvio De Sousa, January 22, 2020
Yeah, you did mess up Silvio and I wish you wouldn’t have picked up that stupid stool. Not that I was worried you were going to use it on someone, but because it allowed people to look at a single image in your life and pretend that they know you.
Who was he going to hit here? His coach?
Dick Vitale said you should be thrown out of college basketball. Dick Vitale wasn’t there, but he apparently knows your whole story. Let’s be honest here, Dick Vitale (say this next part in your best Dick Vitale voice) JUMPED THE SHARK BABY about 15 years ago. Clueless. Stay in the ACC.
Fran Fraschilla provided a completely inaccurate play-by-play, beginning with, “De Sousa walks over him,” which is false. De Sousa stared him down after the block which was a dumb thing to do and rightfully got T’d for it. Fran later said Silvio went “Holyfield!” so thanks to Fran, there’s that image out there for the listening public to chew on.
Quick, without looking at the video, How long did Silvio have that stool in his hands? 10 seconds? 15 seconds? Nope and nope.
Silvio had the stool in his hands for a mere 1.8 seconds before he dropped it. He never swung it at anybody and he never hit anybody with it. In fact, he never touched an opposing player after his picture was taken holding that stool.
How many punches did Silvio throw? 10? 15? Wrong again.
Silvio threw one hay-maker, maybe one-in-a-half. This came after absorbing an onslaught of K-State players who had rushed him from their bench and knocked him to the ground.
The entire melee from Silvio’s block to the players being separated lasted 30 seconds.
If fact, the two sides had separated 10 seconds into the fracas and it was probably going to be over. De Sousa would lose some games for the punch and then we would move on. But then, street-clothed and injured James Love III jumped Silvio, knocking him to the ground and forced the fight into the stands.
Then Silvio lost his mind and picked up a stool. And now Silvio is immortalized for holding a chair over his head for a mere 1.8 seconds and because of that, everyone thinks they have a right to call him a thug.
Marcus Smart went into the stands and shoved a fan. He lost three games.
Brittany Griner punched an opponent in the nose and broke it. She lost two games.
Silvio broke no noses and assaulted no fans. He lost 12 games.
He deserves to miss some games for sure because you can’t lose your cool. But any games he misses should be based on what he actually did instead of what the Big XII is afraid he might have done.
He has been given a 12-game suspension because he looked scary holding that stool over his head for those 1.8 seconds. That’s the reality.
I know I see the Jayhawks through Crimson and Blue colored glasses, but I also know I see more in Silvio than the 1.8 seconds the haters want you to see.
Free Silvio.
#ucandewitt 
This is exactly how most of us feel. The expectation that these KIDS won’t react to a situation such as this the way that he did, is ludicrous. If someone hits you, your brain does one of two things, it tells you to run away or defend yourself. This is a great read and I hope the Big XII come to their senses and empathize with this kid.
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Thank you! Great article speaking with truth and fairness. This is the story coaches will use to teach young athletes about how image DOES matter and can define you to many for a long time.
I hate that stool so much!
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