SAN ANTONIO — A total of eight players from the University of Incarnate Word (UIW) and Texas A&M-Commerce basketball programs have been suspended by the Southland Conference after players were seen fighting in a massive brawl moments after their Monday game.
Conference officials announced the punishments Wednesday afternoon, saying it was suspending four student-athletes from each program, effective immediately, due to "flagrant unsportsmanlike actions."
A traditional handshake line turned aggressive and then chaotic Monday night when players, coaches and referees became embroiled in an all-out brawl lasting about 90 seconds. It's unclear how the confrontation began, but within moments the handshake line turned into a tangle of bodies, with some caught in the middle trying to break up the fighting.
"The Southland Conference Board of Directors has set clear expectations for sportsmanship and behavior of our student-athletes, coaches, and spectators during and after competitions. Unfortunately, these expectations were not met on Monday night, and the Southland Conference will not tolerate any unsportsmanlike behavior," said Southland Conference Commissioner Chris Grant in a statement.
Junior UIW point guard Elijah Davis was suspended for three games. Junior guard Alex Anderson, sophomore center Gabe Beny Til and sophomore forward Marcus Glover all received two-game suspensions for UIW.
After the suspensions were announced the UIW Athletic Director, Richard Duran released the following statement:
“The University of the Incarnate Word respects the decisions made by the Southland Conference. We will honor the suspensions handed down effective immediately. We would like to thank the SLC office for handling this matter in a fair and efficient manner. I appreciate Texas A&M-Commerce's athletic director Jim Curry for partnering with me throughout the process."
The UIW Cardinals play McNeese State University on Saturday.
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