Vicious Kansas Basketball Brawl Could Have Turned Uglier In One Moment

Kansas player Silvio De Sousa, now suspended indefinitely, was poised to hit someone with a stool.

A massive fight erupted at the end of Kansas’ 81-60 victory over rival Kansas State in a Tuesday night basketball game. Players from both college teams threw punches as the brawl raged in the seating area for spectators with disabilities. Fans got involved as well before police and coaches intervened to help break it up.

While there were no preliminary reports of serious injuries, that could have all changed if a stool weren’t snatched from the raised hand of KU forward Silvio De Sousa.

In the game’s final seconds, De Sousa blocked a layup by K-State’s DaJuan Gordon and taunted him as he was on the floor at KU’s homecourt in Lawrence, prompting both teams’ benches to clear.

As the melee ensued, De Sousa held a stool above his head as if ready to strike before Kansas assistant coach Jerrance Howard grabbed it from him.

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Silvio De Sousa of Kansas University was suspended indefinitely for his role in the melee.
Jamie Squire via Getty Images

Here’s video of the moment. 

KU Coach Bill Self announced Wednesday that he had suspended De Sousa indefinitely pending outcome of a joint review by the school and Big 12 conference, The Wichita Eagle reported. Punishments for other players from both sides could be forthcoming.

Here’s the full ESPN video of the fight and sequence of events that led up to it.

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