Shakim Alonzo Update

A couple of brief things for your early afternoon on this fine enough Tuesday. It’s fine enough because we are all alive and able to read this. I kind of have a headache though. Pray for me. 

The big news in the Bearcat world has been something off the field. Football recruit Shakim Alonzo is in a jam because he came off the bench to sucker punch an opposing player during a game. The story has been out for a couple of days. Matt from DtD has a post about it yesterday that had some new insight. Even the Big Lead had a story about this. 

Here’s the quick summation. Alonzo, who has been saying the opposing team used racial slurs during the game, was on the bench after being ejected for throwing an intentional elbow. Alonzo says he was elbowed in the stomach and called a slur first. Alonzo had his coach and mother escort him off the court, but he turned and rushed back to take a swing at the person who did this. Unfortuantely for Gabe Pritz, Alonzo missed and put 11 stiches in the side of Pritz’s head. Pritz was turned around at the time and not the target, which is why it was a sucker punch. 

This lead to the opposing coach saying this:  

“Our kid gets sucker punched. [Alonzo] should lose his scholarship to Cincinnati. If I’m the Cincinnati football coach, I don’t let him walk on my campus. That’s a punk who should never be allowed to play.”

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12052/1211541-361.stm#ixzz1n2Yc5qLN

He later backed off and made this statement :

 “I was just really emotional and worried about my player after the game,” Goga said. “It was a choice of words that was extremely harsh and I understand that. In regards to the incident, I feel it was a violent attack. In regards to his scholarship, that’s none of my business.”

The school is the one who has the task of discipling Alonzo according to the linked report a little bit up. The WPIAL could levy heavier penalties if they think it’s not good enough, which is pretty common. It’s like an NCAA situation. 

That’s not Alonzo’s only problems. The police are going to talk to the DA about if they want to file criminal charges against Shakim. Obviously if he were charged with something, UC would be in a tough position on whether or not to bring him in. I think if he’s not charged that they will honor his scholarship. If the DA presses the issue, I can’t imagine UC taking the PR knock and flak for going against what Butch Jones says he looks for in people. That’s just one very handsome man’s opinion.

This also wouldn’t have happened if the basketball coach did like the basketball coach did at my high school after my sophomore year and banned the football team from playing basketball. Sure, this meant that the basketball team sucked a whole lot. But that meant that I was able to be cut later in tryouts. Thanks for that, Badin high.

Here is Shakim’s highlight package of him playing football.