Big 12: Bench-Clearing Brawl
By Glenn Tanner - May 27, 2006
Kansas 2B Ryne Price just hit a home run and set a record for the longest time needed to circle the bases.
He started out running fast enough, but got into a wrestling match with Missouri 3Bman Brock Bond before reaching third. Both benches emptied, players squared off, and when order was restored, Price rounded third and touched home plate.
Replays showed that Bond was standing in the base line short of third and Price gave him a nudge with his shoulder as he passed. Bond grabbed Price and threw him down, and third base umpire Doug Williams did a great job, bear-hugging Bond and pulling him away. Seconds later, both teams had converged on the situation, and while I'm not sure I saw any punches thrown, there was definitely a good deal of shoving going on.
Bond and Price have both been ejected, and the Big 12 office has confiscated the video tape of the incident and is meeting right now, viewing the tape and reviewing the rule book.
The NCAA has a rule mandating a three-game suspension for anyone who leaves the bench to participate in a fight. I have no idea what they'll do with that. I'd expect Bond and Price to be suspended tomorrow and possibly others will join them. I'll post more news as soon as we get official word.
Missouri is currently batting in the top of the 4th with two out, trailing 2-0.
Posted by Glenn Tanner at 10:23 PM on May 27, 2006
Comments (7)
Comments
Ha big break for Nebraska.... this should just about seal up the big 12 title. GO BIG RED
Comment by Joe Houdesheldt - May 27, 2006 11:11 PM
One thing I do know is that teams are allowed to stagger suspensions, even over to next season. Here's the rule from the NCAA rulebook:
A.R. 2 —If serving multiple suspensions from a fight would cause a school difficulty in fielding a team for its next game or games, the institution may request that the suspensions be staggered by the conference office.
I would guess that any senior who is handed a suspension will be forced to serve it immediately, but KU will definitely not have to pull students out of the crowd to play tomorrow.
Comment by Tanner - May 27, 2006 11:33 PM
They still have a lot of seniors in their starting lineup itll still be a big blow to them.
Comment by Joe Houdesheldt - May 27, 2006 11:43 PM
Here's more from the rulebook:
c. Team Personnel Leaving Position—Team personnel leaving their position to participate in a physical confrontation (e.g., pushing, shoving, bumping) or a fight (see 5-16-a) shall include players, coaches, trainers and managers.
PENALTY—
(1) All team personnel, including coaches, who leave their positions and participate in a fight shall be ejected and suspended for the team’s next three contests.
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Notice it's not the NBA rule, where leaving the bench is an automatic suspension. I'm sure the committee is discussing what exactly "participating in a fight" means, and who was "participating." I thought I only saw about five players on each team actively shoving, so that may be the extent of the suspensions.
Comment by Tanner - May 27, 2006 11:53 PM
alright thanks for clearing that up.
Comment by Joe Houdesheldt - May 28, 2006 12:03 AM
It seems the difference would be players and coaches leaving their benches to break UP a fight as opposed to joining a fight. Do you have a video of the melee somewhere on this site? Also, I wonder: do they have these issues to sort out with (women's) softball or is this just a testosterone issue?
Comment by Diana Thorn - May 28, 2006 10:01 AM
Diana, your first sentence is exactly correct. However, I can guarantee you that every player who left their bench last night wasn't out there breaking up the fight. There were definitely players out there shoving each other, escalating the situation. The umpires did an excellent job handling the situation, though.
As far as the video, the game wasn't televised, but it was being shot for the in-house video. A couple of us went to the video booth no more than five minutes after the incident, and someone from the Big 12 had already taken the tape. Hopefully, the Fox Sports telecast will be able to show it during their broadcast today.
Comment by Tanner - May 28, 2006 10:49 AM