Last week saw a all-to-more-common occurrence of players backing up smack talk on the court with fists.  The Cincinnati Bearcats, in a crosstown rivalry game with the #6 ranked Xavier Musketeers were having their heads handed to them.  Though former coach Bob Huggins was no longer coaching the team, it appears his us-against-the-world, back down from no one attitude is still part of the DNA of the program.

Late in the game fists began to fly, specifically Bearcat Yancy Gates connecting with the chin of Musketeer Kenny Frease.  The final 18.6 seconds of the game were not played as the officials ended the game.  In the post-game interviews Mick Cronin, the Cincinnati coach said he hoped his college president would not fire him, that he was embarrassed by this players and literally ripped the uniforms off some of their backs, stating that he was seriously contemplating whether they should be allowed to continue in the program.

Perhaps more amazing was a statement made by Xavier point guard Tu Holloway.  "That's what you're going to see from Xavier and Cincinnati," Holloway said. "We got disrespected a little bit before the game, guys calling us out. We're a tougher team. We're grown men over here. We've got a whole bunch of gangsters in the locker room – not thugs, but tough guys on the court. And we went out there and zipped them up at the end of the game."

Terms like gangsters, thugs, and "zipped them up" are not part of the everyday lexicon of most individuals, but apparently may be so of some college athletes, who, while they may not be members of gangs, do sound like they are.  Being tough on the field or on the court is one of the behaviors that makes an athlete successful.  What may need some articulation is what "tough" is.  Words, such as those used by Holloway, have a chilling effect upon how college sports are viewed by the public, and specifically, college athletes.  It is not the public that has to learn the language of the college player, it is the college athlete/student that needs to go to class and learn how to communicate with the buying public.  If they cannot do so, now or later, their careers may be short, if they even have athletic careers.