Anthony Davis lay on the floor for a few moments after being fouled by LSU. (Victoria Graff photo)
Vaught’s note: Long-time Kentucky fan Linda Sinclair has had enough of the way opposing teams are playing against Anthony Davis. Enjoy her perspective.
By LINDA SINCLAIR
I don’t think I have ever seen more blatant actions before in trying to injure a player to take him out of a game. Â I have watched this video I am sending to you several times. Â Even thought Anthony hit his head on the young man’s knee, it seems to me he was pushed down first. He was pushed down on his shoulder by an LSU player. http://www.youtube.com/watch?
The second time when he was grabbed from the back by both shoulders makes me sick each time I see it. Â That LSU player went after him with the intention of hurting him. Â He had hate in his body language and on his face. Â I am glad he got thrown out of the game. Â I was surprised to see Cal run out on the floor the way he did. Â He was telling people to back off and I don’t know if they were trying to fight or he just wanted them to get away from Anthony. Â I was so impressed when Cal went over to Anthony and helped him up. Â It just makes me sick the way Kentucky players are being treated this year and no one is doing anything about it. Â Someone is going to get seriously hurt.
The third incident he was again pushed by pushing on  the back of his head.
This is getting ridiculous. Â Maybe the coaches are not encouraging these actions but someone is putting the idea into their heads to stop Anthony any way they can and no matter the cost. Â I feel like the opposing players get together and make a pack amongst themselves to take Anthony out. Â They are jealous of him and his talent. Â They don’t want to lose and are trying to do anything they can not to lose. Â I do not think any of these 3 incidents today were accidents, especially the one where he was pulled down by his shoulders.
Anthony is such a good young man. Nothing ever bothers him, he does not lose his temper. He does something good, actually spectacular and heads back down the floor to continue his job. He doesn’t pump the air, pose or anything. He is there for one thing, to get a job done. It has been a long time since I have seen someone like him on a college floor. Â I also think Michael Kdd-Gilcrist has the same attitude.
I was especially proud of the young men today because they showed what sportsmanship is all about. Â None of them lost their temper. Â They all showed what truly good young men they are. Â it could have gotten out of hand so easily today. Â This has been a fun team to watch and I am happy that TJ is back in the game. Â Darius was spectacular today and it seems like if one is having an off day with shooting someone else steps up.
Seriously, today it looked to me every time Anthony went down it was from an LSU player doing something intentional to stop him and to take him out of the game with injuries.
31 Responses to Guest post: Way Anthony Davis is being treated is getting ridiculous
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Great post and the player that pulled Davis down (when he hit his head) was last years, “MR. KY” in Basketball. I went back to that play several times, paused it and went frame by frame. Once Davis was on hi way down, I could see Hickey pull his arms back as if he didn’t do anything. Now, I’m not sure it was malicious, but it didn’t look good in my opinion.
Not to mention the way TJ was pushed from behind while running down court; on one of LSU’s alley-oop plays. He could have fell and injured himself then as well.
Then the slap (with a forearm) to Davis’ face as he was following up Wiltjer’s missed layup.
Terrible display of sportsmanship by LSU no doubt about it. Oh and #24 for LSU…don’t get me started on that “player”.
Linda, I felt like a mother Wildcat when he went down both times: wanting to protect him and so very angry that another player would defile the game of college basketball by that kind of playing. The SEC must, I repeat MUST, take this seriously and impose some kind of suspension for that “tackle from behind” that could have been so much more serious. We do not want any players permanently injured by what should be friendly rivalry. Step up, SEC, step up now and protect our players.
Don’t think Johnson is that kind of coach. Never has been. Interesting to see what other SEC teams take from the game, starting with Tennessee since the Vols tried to beat up on UK in Tennessee
Tennessee was perhaps the first to try, and came the closest to making it work. I suspect they will go back to the same well on Tuesday, but then, that is right in character for the UThug team, isn’t it.
After than, the next thugging will occur in Nashville on Feb 11, and then at Mississippi State on Feb 21.
The good news is that once the Cats finally weather the SEC wars, they will not have the same kind of treatment from opponents or referees in the NCAA Tournament, and will be battle hardened to endure the big dance wars.
Cats are beginning to make their move to greatness.
Larry, I agree that Johnson is not that kind of coach. I think all the coaches would be appalled if their player was tackled from behind like White did to AD. Nevertheless, it happened over and over again in that game. Is there any hope that the SEC will add further suspensions over this foul?
I have to disagree.If Johnson was not that kind of coach ,why did’nt he do something about the kind of play going on.Also,no one has mentioned the tripping incident.That was as flagrant as any of the others.The sucker punch was remenicent of Tyler Hansborogh having his nose broken by a Duke player several years ago.
Why the SEC allows play like this to continue is beyond comprehension.I really wonder what the position of the league would be if UK resorted to the type of play we have seen from UT,Bama,and LSU.
On all those flagrant fouls directed toard Davis,it’s little wonder that he was not seriously injured.If he had been,what actions if any would be taken by the SEC or NCAA ?
I don’t think the SEC will take any further action, but we’ll see
My wife and I was watching the game and they showed Dale Brown and after the fouls on Davis her and I was wondering if Dale made a speech to the team before the game and reminded the Tigers on how the games were played in the “Old Days”. I guess some of the teams in the SEC are getting tired of getting their Butts kicked by the Cats over the last three years and it doesn’t look like it is going to stop so they are going to play “Street Ball” with KY until something is done.
The SEC won’t do anything. They’re jealous too or the rest of the league is obviously. This sort of thing was done to Cousins all the time and nothing was done. But when White grabbed Davis from behind and slammed him to the floor he should have been kicked out of basketball forever. There’s no room for thugs like that. They’ll let it go until they get a tragedy and some kid will be paralyzed or worse. It happens and that sort of play is just how it happens. Suppose he had hit head first. He could easily have broken his neck.
It isn’t just the SEC either. Louisville and Indiana both have played thug ball against the Cats in recent years. And Tenn. assaulted Cousins horribly when they played.
I can’t imagine Cal not doing something about this. To be honest I think he needs to sign an enforcer for every team. That’s all White is. He’s a big, muscular kid who had zero points on one shot and one rebound in 7 minutes. But he had 3 fouls in that time. I think Cal is too good of a human to retaliate and I admire that in him but at some point you have to protect yourself and sometimes that means getting even. I don’t think they should slam people to the floor but a well placed elbow will go a long way toward stopping that chippy stuff. Where’s James Lee when we really need him? The last 2 years the Cats have had guys that could retaliate if they wanted. Cousins and Josh were both big boys. But I never saw either play dirty. Now they don’t really have anyone that can throw their weight around. IMO that should be a recruiting priority.
I recall a thuggery play by a big Georgia player against one of our Cats not too many years ago, perhaps it was Gillispie’s first trip to UGA. I don’t recall the players involved, only the ugly incident
It is an outrage, but it is nothing new for the Cats in the SEC or as King reminds us against certain non-conference teams including little brother and IU
True, so true; I thought of that foul against Bradley and the Georgia player when I saw Davis going down and Coach standing by him. There weren’t many times I respected Gillispie more than that game. It must be a coach’s worst nightmare. I have a feeling that Davis has some bruises he didn’t even know he got yesterday
I remember the play you’re talking about Prof.. It was Meeks that took the cheap shot. The thing about Clyde was he didn’t like that sort of thing at all. One of the few things I liked about him (the very few) was that he wasn’t afraid to let his players get even. It wasn’t that game that they got even. It was the next time they played Ga. and for the life of me I can’t remember which UK player it was that did it but he clotheslined a UG guard who was on a dead run. There was a lot of elbow involved too. That Ga. player went down and was watching the stars for about 5 seconds. It wasn’t enough to seriously hurt the guy but it was enough to let other teams know cheap shots would not be tolerated. They waited until the next time they played so it wouldn’t be obvious. The really sick part though was that UK lost that second game at home after having thrashed Ga. down in Athens. It was one of the last straws for Billy Clyde actually.
I meant to point out that game was the last game Clyde coached in Rupp and it was the teams second straight loss there. They did win a game in Memorial after that.
No doubt its starting to get out of hand. Something needs to be done before one of our guys get seriously hurt. Teams obviously realize they cannot match up and beat the Cats, so they just try to beat them up. Trouble with that is, they still can’t beat them. While watching these rugby games makes me furious, this will only toughen the team up going into March (assuming nobody gets hurt). This team has a toughness that really neither of Cal’s other two teams had, which gives them a chance to win the title this year. These guys are legit!! I think the physical play, especially in this game, has started to awaken the sleeping giant in TJ too. That puts this team on another level entirely. We are starting to play with a chip on our shoulders, which is bad news for everybody else. But to the point, yes I am proud of our guys. The game could’ve gotten ugly, but our guys played with class and wouldn’t let that happen.
The team has basically shattered every possible blueprint to beat them. We are winning on the road, we are lighting up a zone, we are carving up the press, we can play slow down or up-tempo games, and we have shown we can take the hits, get up, and come right back at them. Teams are really out of options. They can just hope they play out of their minds and we are just having a terrible night if they are going to beat us. The rest of the SEC and the NCAA had better fear the Big Blue right now! It is all starting to come together!!
I am so glad other people feel the same way I do. I cannot watch one more time the pull down by White on Davis. It makes me ill.
I think when a player does something to deserve a flagrant 2 foul and he does something that could inflict an injury that is career ending or ends the player in the hospital I think he should be banned from ever playing a game again and his scholarship yanked from him. I also think he should do community service in a hospital or institution that specializes in people who have been injured and are in a partial or complete vegetative state, and people who are paralyzed, can’t talk or feed themselves. Let them see what could have happened from their lack of control.
I was praying that Anthony did not suffer a concussion from any of the attempts to take him out of the game. Basketball is not fun to watch when you after worry about someone being injured for life. As noted, this has been going on for 3 years against UK. I don’t know how Cousins kept his composure in most games. Why do you want to hurt another player, another human being? Where is their conciseness? You know they know the difference between right and wrong.
I really think the media, the internet and video games are taking a toll on our young people. I don’t know how to stop it, where it will end or how to show these young people this is not the way you play basketball.
Basketball is not wrestling, boxing, football, or rugby, but it is becoming Survivor-The Basketball Court.
In the back of my mind when Cal came out on the court, helped Anthony to his feet and embraced him, I was hoping he would take the boys and walk off the court. I know we would have forfeited the game, but it would have made a great point. Not like what Williams made when he pulled his off the court when they were losing so badly.
The violence, thuggery and bullying needs to stop. botox mark and his band of merry men want to sit on their tidy little thrones and just enjoy counting their money in Indy but they need to stop the brutality that has taken over some of these programs.
Jealousy, hate and envy will follow these young men their whole lives. It will not stop on the basketball court.
Go Cats! Livin’ Blue & Lovin’ It!
I’m concerned that the next rough playing will come from Vanderbilt. I watched Vanderbilt play Tennessee. The Vandy center, (ezeil??) twice grabbed Stokes headband and pulled him down, then stood back and laughed at Stokes. I’m already prejudiced against Vandy for their playing floor being raised, shot clock hidden back under their basket, and the team benches being at the ends of the floor instead of the sidelines like most all other playing floors. And Coach Stallings fired the first shot a week or so ago about the playing schedule. I hope the officials ,both on the floor and at SEC Headquarters, watch the upcoming games with Vanderbilt extremely closely. I’d hate for Davis or any other Cat get so seriously injured that it ruins their shot at NBA.
You see and hear so many media outlets and coach Cal for that matter, point out that uk has or had a lack of physical play. Well as i watched that game yesterday , i am really not suprised that it went that far. I think teams have more or less adopted that blueprint , and that format has tallied up just 1 loss for uk. Not to shabby. This whole thing of trying to muscle uk around makes me wonder if other teams think its ok too do just that, because uk is expecting it and we know its coming. Like saying , well its ok if we give them a cheap shot here and there , they are uk and they know we are coming in to be physical with them. It just does not make it right. If the blueprint is to be cheap and dirty then you should be kicked out of games. Quite frankly it is getting old in a hurry. And i am sick and tired of hearing uk runs from physicality .
By running, I think you have a valid point. It’s like the school bully. Until someone punches him in the mouth, he’s going to keep doing it. SOMEONE on UK’s team is going to have to push back. NOT pull a LSU on the guy/team, but if UK keeps taking it…teams are going to keep dishing it out.
Before anyone gets all riled up, I’m not talking about punching/hitting/kicking the opponent, but giving them a little Ramel Bradley/Jamal Magloire treatment (get in their face and don’t back down)…teams will continue with this type of play. JMHO.
Could be that I don’t like Bullies and growing up, I fought on a daily basis because of my name and skin tone. Until I started standing up for myself, the bully kept calling me names and trying to fight me. Well, there comes a point when one can only take so much. He got what he asked for and he never bothered me again. To add, I didn’t go looking for fights and I never started a fight. Just like many young boys are told by their fathers, “you don’t start the fight, but you d@m# sure better finish it.” That’s all I’m saying.
To finish, I think the Cats did very well keeping their collective cool last night. They showed tremendous restraint in all that mess. I guess MKG came to Davis’ defense, but the Camera didn’t show any of the “action”. Gotta give the team a ‘HIGH 5′ for that.
The solution to this problem is a simple rule change. At present, there’s a Flagrant Foul # 1 (free throws and the ball back) and a Flagrant Foul # 2 (free throws, ball back and ejection). I think the Flagrant 2 should be changed to automatic 2 points (or 3 depending on what shot was attempted) plus ejection. This would eliminate one of the main reasons to commit such fouls (to deny points by any means neccessary).
Oh and I fogot … on the Flagrant Foul # 2 you still should get the ball back. In addition there should be 2 technical free throws. So in all such play could result in a 8 point swing (3 automatic + 2 technical free throws + 3 possible points with the ball back)
I like that idea! I still think they should be suspened or kicked off the team.
I was listening to the game on the radio with Tom Leach and Mike Pratt, and according to them when it happend MKG did go to his defence they said he did not take any swings or push or put his hands on the other guy but he did get right up in his face and look him in the eye. They talked like they were impressed with the idea that MKG would stand up for his teammate, but also that he did not take any further action other than looking at him.
I can tell you my opinion if Kentucky retaliated in any way or had even done something like that first we would have seen the SEC and ncaa involved in a heartbeat, and the sporting world would be making snide remarks about Coach CAL and what an awful coach he was for letting this sort of thing happen.
Great point, when the incident (assault) took place, the Camera panned to Calipari running on the floor and down to Davis. Then, when Cal stood up to yell at MKG to go away, the Broadcasters mentioned that MKG came to Davis’ defense. GOOD!!!!! And even better that he kept his cool. A lot more has happened for a lot less on a basketball court near you. Way to go COOL CATS!
If I’m not mistaken, I think the SEC has a rule that automatically suspends any player who is ejected for fighting for one game. What White did is much more egregious and could have had much more disastrous consequences physically for Davis than a punch.
I recall incidents of thuggery in college basketball for decades, going back to my earliest recollection of such being when certain Minnesota players assaulted Ohio State players during the course of a basketball game. It was ugly, and the Ohio State players sustained injuries. Throughout my time as a fan, such incidents have exploded on the scene from time to time.
I believe that when coaches begin to use thuggery as a strategic plan to overcome talent gaps, those coaches have gone way over the top. Can there be any doubt that LSU’s strategy on Saturday was just that, from the head coach down. His public statements since the White-Davis assault notewithstanding, because afterall, just like so many things in our culture today, “PROVE IT” and I MAINTAIN MY PLAUSIBLE DENY-ABILITY.
Sad state of affairs from where I sit
I hope we play this team again during the tourney and beat them by 50. I am still pissed about the crap that LSU pulled. UK fans will remember this game next year when they come to our house. If Trent did not approve the way White played will he suspend him for another game. If he doesn’t suspend him for his actions it was just lip service from Trent.
Politically correct speech is all that it is.
I just sent an email to the commissioner of the SEC. I don’t know if it will do any good, but I included this link and the idea that something needs to be done about this. It is not just in the SEC, but perhaps if the SEC were the first to do something about it the rest of the conferences would follow suit.
My email was respectful, no losing my temper and I did sign my name.
If you promise to act like adults, send an email to: commissioner@sec.org
Subject: Flagrant foul of Anthony Davis (UK) by Malcolm White (LSU)
I know a lot of people who have already sent emails.
Go Cats!
If you get a reply Linda, please forward it my way to share with all
I’d love to see that happen Larry but I’m not holding my breath. The thuggery has drawn national attention though. I saw several columns on various sports sites that mentioned how LSU played usually in the headline. The game did get noticed at least.
I think the only thing that will make any real difference is if someone gets badly hurt by a thug move. I remember how the NBA had become horribly rough and dirty at one time then one event changed the entire sport for over a decade. Rudy Tomjanovich had his whole face crushed by Kermit Washington from just one punch. He nearly died from that punch from the most feared hatchet man in the league. They said that punch changed basketball forever. It didn’t. Things went from bad to worse. I remember seeing 2 of Dr. J’s teammates, Charles Barkley and Moses Malone, hold Larry Bird while Doc pummled him with punches. Great guy that Doctor J. – NOT!. I saw Bill Laimbeer hit Larry Bird with two vicious elbows only to have Bird get mad and score like a crazy man afterwards. I saw the Pistons win titles with nothing but thuggery. I’ve seen coaches choked by players, Players choked by coaches, fans attacked by players, and none of that was as bad as what happened to Davis. White is very, very lucky he didn’t kill Davis.
But the SEC will do NOTHING about it and we’ll see the Vols play the same way tonight. That’s why I say that if Cal has a weakness it’s his unwillingness to get even. He’s too nice of a person to let that happen. I admire him for that but I also know that this is a hard world and sometimes you have to fight fire with fire. I don’t want to see any body slams or foot grabbing or crotch punching (all of which has happened to the Cats since Cal came to town) but I would like to see him get more use out of a player like Vargas maybe. MKG seems to like to take on the role of enforcer but the team needs him on the floor. A clothesline of Hickey could have made a lasting impression on the entire league.
I will Larry. Check you email, I’m sending you a copy of what I sent.