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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2009
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VOLUME 121 ISSUE 26
ATHLETICS
Jayhawk fights rock campus
Basketball players congregate outside of the Wesco Underground on Wednesday at about 10 a.m. Brett Ballard, wearing a red shirt and black jacket, is the director of basketball operations and former backup point guard for the Jayhawks for two seasons.
Chancellor, students and team respond to altercations
BY DANIEL JOHNSON djohnson@kansan.com
Chance Dibben/KANSAN
Students, community members and the rest of the Jayhawk nation spent the past 24 hours questioning why players wearing similar crimson and blue-clad jerseys threw punches at each other on multiple occasions.
The brawl on campus yesterday morning was the second public altercation within 24 hours between KU football and basketball players. Following an incident on Tuesday night that left Tyshawn Taylor with a dislocated finger, more than 25 football and basketball players were involved in a fight yesterday morning behind Budig Hall.
"I have consulted with Lew Perkins and share his disappointment regarding the recent incidents involving a small number of our student athletes," Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said in a statement. "They need to realize their profiles make them representatives of the University off the court and field, as well as on it, and that KU had high expectations for its students. I appreciate the quick response by the athletic director and university staff and the strong statement from the team's leaders."
CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY REACTIONS
Throughout the day, stories about the incidents spread across campus and community.
Katie Summers, Tulsa junior, said she was shocked when she saw the altercation as she walked to Anschutz library.
"It was so intimidating to have these insanely big football and basketball players shouting at each other," Summers said. "I just ran to the library and got out of the wav."
Rex Porter, owner and barber at Rex's Stadium Barber Shop, 1033 Massachusetts St., said nearly everyone who came in for haircuts yesterday was talking about the brawl.
He said in his 46 years in Lawrence he had never seen anything like this, but that throughout the last year he had heard various accounts of growing animosity between the players of the two programs.
"There's been a lot of friction between the two programs," Porter said. "I've been hearing about ongoing fights between the programs, whether it's been a fight at Wayne and Larry's or an argument at The Hawk."
When he heard about the altercations via text message yesterday afternoon, Dexton Fields, former KU wide receiver and 2009 graduate, remembered the only other
@KANSAN.COM
See video of the basketball players leaving Wescoe at kansan.com. KUJH
MANGINO, PLAYERS DISCUSS INCIDENTS
Coach Mark Mangino addressed the media for the first time since two incidents involving members of the foot ball and basketball teams occurred Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
While Mangino said he was still gathering information,he didn't think any suspensions would be handed out
"I'm looking at the information that I've gotten so far and there are still a lot of things that have to get to me in terms of exactly what happened and how it happened," Mangino said. "But based on what I have right now, I don't see anything that would have我 discipline any individual player."
"We're just talking about probably a few guys here that let their emotions get the best of them," Mangino said. "It's not nearly as big a situation as it has been portrayed in some media outlets."
Mangino, the athletic administration and all members of the football and basketball teams met in the Anderson Family Football Complex. Athletic Director Lew Perkins called the meeting to discuss the situation. Mangino and his players said the meeting seemed to be a success.
"Ijust told our guys we need to put it behind us and stay focused," senior quarterback Todd Reesing said. "We've moved past it. We've met with the guys and everything is under control."
There are no bad feelings and there's not going to be a continuation of this."
Mangino said that if any new, reliable information surfaces about the two incidents, he will take further action at that point.
Senior guard Sherron Collins climbs into a vehicle with Associate Athletics Director Sean Lester Wednesday morning behind Wescoe Hall. After police responded to an incident involving members of the football and basketball team, Collins and other teammates left the situation in a van driven by former player Brennan Beach.
Details of second team fight not yet confirmed
Jayson Jenks
BY DANIEL JOHNSON
djohnson@kansan.com
The fightthatbrokeoutbehind Budig Hall yesterday morning between football and basketball players involved the Morris twins, Mario Little, Sherron Collins, Tshawn Taylor, Brady Morningstar, Travis Releford, Tyrel Reed, Thomas Robinson, Elijah Johnson and many other players. The only football players identified in the group were Dezmion Briscoe and Chris Harris, whom police from the KU Police Department were questioning.
SEEREACTION ON PAGE 10A
football players. Hems said the group of football players continued to grow to 15 or more. He said police arrived on the scene after nearly five minutes of the players arguing with each other.
Harrison Hems, San Diego senior, saw basketball and football players gathered in groups between Anschutz Library and the lower entrance to the Wesco Underground. Hems said several basketball players were yelling at the group of
One KU senior, who witnessed the initial outbreak of the brawl, said she heard a football player yell, "What did you say?" at 9:48 a.m. and run up a set of stairs behind Budig Hall. She said she saw one of the Morris twins throw a football player down the stairs. She said the football player fell backwards down six stairs before being caught by a fellow football player. She said immediately after, several pairs of football and basketball players began fighting.
players who were involved in the fight.
Another source, who did not want to be identified, confirmed this information. This source described seeing football players running toward the scene from Sunnyside Avenue. They joined in the scuffle, which the KU senior said continued for a few minutes.
The reporter said he heard one of the Morris twins tell the police later, "One of them just jumped out and threw his hands on me," referring to the football
"It all happened really fast," the KU senior said. "There were a lot of people throwing punches."
Shannon Jobe, Topeka sophomore, said she heard a football player tell the police one of the basketball players pushed a football player down the stairs.
Another student who did not want to be identified said the other basketball players were trying to calm Collins down.
SEE FIGHT ON PAGE 10A
'Heroes' garners Emmy for alumnus
BY ABIGAIL BOLIN abolin@kansan.com
Achieving lifelong goals can sometimes be as fickle as a special effect. Especially if you are battling a galactic starship with a cast of heroes trying to save the world, and occasionally win an Emmy for your work. What could have been a tragic ending to this story
became an evening of success for a University alumnus at the Emms.
Chris Martin, 2003 graduate, and his team from Stargate Studios in Pasadena, Ca.
Martin
won an Emmy this month for their special effects in the TV series "Heroes" at the 2009 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, after losing to "Battlestar Galactica" the previous two years.
"I set a goal for us after season one to win an Emmy," Martin said. "I didn't want to just wait for the competition to go away. We were going to earn it."
Martin got involved with special effects while making movies and participating in the student organization KU Filmworks before earning a degree in film in 2003.
SEE EMMY ON PAGE 3A
ADMINISTRATION
Program budget cuts pose challenge
BY JESSE BROWN jbrown@kansan.com
Recent budget cuts may be slowing some students' progress because of fewer class sections and fewer faculty members, hindering the University administrators' goal of graduating students in four years. Additionally, programs sponsored by the University, such as UKanTeach, are having to come up with alternative ways to raise money to fill the previously government-funded gap.
For fiscal year 2009-2010, the Lawrence campus budget was reduced by $17.9 million, resulting in 75 fewer class sections and 55 fewer faculty members. Overall, 121 University positions have been cut or left unfilled, and there are fewer graduate teaching assistants. The cuts require teachers and faculty to do more with less. Anderson said if the budget cuts continued, it could result in a decline in service and the
SEE BUDGET ON PAGE 3A
index
Classifieds...6A
Crossword...4B
Horoscopes...4B
Opinion. 5B
Sports. 1B
Sudoku. 4B
All contents, unless stated otherwise; © 2009 The University Daily Kansan
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