Did UK’s Cousins Strike A Carolina Fan?

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Here’s a perfect example of why the SEC doesn’t want fans storming the league’s playing fields and courts — a television reporter in Columbia claims that he saw Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins strike a South Carolina fan after the Cocks’ win over the top-ranked Cats Tuesday night.

Bob Shields of WLTX-TV and WNKT-FM said that as fans stormed the court, one of them bumped into Cousins.  Shields claims Cousins “popped the kid a couple of times in the cheek.”

USC spokesman Steve Fink said he was aware of the incident because reporters had called to ask about it.  No one in the Carolina athletic department, however, has “brought it up at all.”

Shields said that he saw Cousins deliver “two quick little uppercuts” while the fan crouched down to slip past security.

On Shields’ radio show Wednesday, a man called in and claimed that he was the recipient of the “cold-cock” and that it knocked him “for a loop.”

Sorry, but I’m siding with Cousins on this one.  Should a player ever punch a fan?  Of course not, unless it’s in self-defense.  But surrounded by thousands of celebrating idiots — some of whom are stupid enough to trash talk emotional players — who’s to say what a player thinks is self-defense.

I’ll use the old “Airplane!” line on this one — “they bought their tickets, I say let ‘em crash.”  If someone is dumb enough to run onto a court next to losing players, he gets what he gets.

I understand celebrating a victory.  I understand that college kids will storm fields and floors — as I wrote yesterday.  But if I were going to run onto a court, I’d dang sure stay clear of any of losing players.  That’s what they call “asking for it.”

If you’d like to see the scrap for yourself… good luck.  This video makes the Zapruder film look down right pristine.