Last Sunday, a fight broke out between players at the SEC Tournament Championship. The game was played between the University of South Carolina and Louisiana State University.
LSU’s player Flau’jae Johnson fouled South Carolina player MiLaysia Fulwiley and later proceeded to push Ashlyn Watkins. Johnson was then pushed to the ground by South Carolina player Kamilla Cardoso, which led to both teams getting involved to break up the fight.
“Initially I was excited to see women’s basketball gain all this attention, especially lately with all the eyes on the players like Caitlyn Clarke, who is the point guard for the Iowa Hawkeyes, freshman Arria Shimizu said. “But, the scuffle between LSU and USC was attention for the wrong reasons,”
Kamilla Cardoso was ejected from the game following the brawl. It is rumored that she will be suspended from the Gamecocks’ NCAA tournament opener, according to ESPN.
“Cardoso is definitely a crucial player to the Gamecocks’ success, as she’s been one of the top scoring players,” sophomore Juliette Wu said. “Losing her for the tournament opener will be unideal,”
The South Carolina Big Spurs were going for their third NCAA tournament championship trophy in a row. Speculations have now arisen that this fight may have put their efforts this season in jeopardy, according to ESPN.
“The Gamecocks have been undefeated this year, and Cardoso has definitely stepped up this season after being one of last year’s strongest defensive players,” Wu said. “I’m excited to see how the rest of the season plays out as the NCAA Tournament begins,”
Cardoso later released a statement on social media apologizing for her behavior, alongside Dawn Staley, the Gamecocks’ coach, expressing regret at the escalation of the situation in a press conference.
“In all honesty, sometimes talk makes the competition fun, but I don’t think anything warrants dirty playing or fighting,” Shimizu said. “As a player, at the end of the day I just want to play basketball to play the game and part of respecting the game comes with respecting each other.”
