NCAA basketball got messed up big time recently following the ugly brawl between Kansas State and the Kansas Jayhawks. In the middle of the free-for-all was Silvio De Sousa, someone who has had his share of controversies.
It was the 21-year-old who practically sparked the melee. After losing the ball to DaJuan Gordon, De Soussa chased and blocked a layup attempt and then stood over the 6-foot-3 guard. Things just got out of hand with other players joining in the melee. De Sousa was spotted throwing some punches and even held a chair at one point, ESPN reported.
As a result of the brawl, De Sousa will be missing 12 games. He and three other players were meted suspensions by the Big 12 for their roles in the brawl. The others were David McCormack (two-game ban), James Love (eight games), and Antonio Gordon (three games).
For De Sousa, the suspension means he will miss the rest of the Jayhawks' regular-season assignments. This could be a big blow to the Kansas who are half-a-game behind Baylor. It remains to be seen if this would hamper their plans of making a deep run in the NCAA tournament.
In the aftermath of the massive brawl, De Sousa released a statement apologizing for his actions via Twitter. He admits that his behavior was unacceptable and that it was a poor representation of the team and his own character. He ended the statement by saying he messed up, and he was sorry.
De Sousa's basketball journey has been a stormy one. Back in 2019, the 6-foot-9 cager who was then a sophomore was ruled ineligible for the remainder of the 2018-19 season and initially the entire 2019-20 season. The issue back then was because his guardian allegedly accepted a $2,500 payment from an agent. Aside from that, the same person reportedly agreed to accept future payment of $20,000 from the agent and a shoe brand employee per a statement released by the NCAA.
An appeal was made in April 2019 with the NCAA on behalf of the Angolan. At the same time, De Sousa declared for the 2019 NBA Draft in the event that the appeal would be denied. However, he preferred to play on for Kansas if he won the appeal. About a month later, the NCAA ruled him eligible to play for the 2019-20 NCAA season. He would withdraw his name from the NBA Draft afterward.
It will take time for wounds to heal in the aftermath of the NCAA brawl. But apologizing and admitting his mistakes are lessons learned for De Sousa, who finds himself back in the doghouse once more.
