Kansas basketball: Silvio De Sousa deserves a chance for redemption

Silvio De Sousa will miss the next 12 games as he serves a suspension for his role in a brawl between Kansas and Kansas State, but he deserves a chance for redemption.

There is no excuse for what Silvio De Sousa did to spark a brawl between his Kansas Jayhawks and rival Kansas State Wildcats, but this should not be a career-ending mistake.

De Sousa should be embarrassed, Kansas should be embarrassed, the Big 12 should be embarrassed and college basketball should be embarrassed for what transpired at the end of Tuesday night’s game.

Players quickly escalated from a little scrum around the basket after a meaningless blocked shot to a full-on, benches-clearing brawl as they converged on the surrounding fans in their seats. It was ugly. The ugliest moment came when De Sousa picked up a stool before something in his brain told him to put it down and don’t let this become a career-ending scene.

De Sousa was suspended 12 games by the Big 12 for sparking and escalating the brawl. This was a just punishment. He deserved to have a harsh penalty for his actions. I also think anything beyond this, such as a season-ending suspension or banishment from the NCAA would have been far too punitive.

While ESPN’s Dick Vitale called for banishment and the Rich Sugg of the Kansas City Star thinks De Sousa’s college career should be over, I think De Sousa deserves an opportunity to redeem himself on the college level after he reflects on what he did, learns from it, and makes sure to never let it happen again.

De Sousa issued a lengthy apology on Twitter on Tuesday night after the suspension was levied. It was contrite. He took accountability for what he did. Apologizing doesn’t absolve him of wrongdoing, he isn’t instantly forgiven, but this marks the first step toward earning his chance for redemption.

“There is no excuse for my behavior, and I cannot justify the unreasonable choices that I made yesterday on the court,” De Sousa said in his statement posted on his Twitter. “I not only showed a lack of sportsmanship, but I put myself, my teammates and the fans in danger.

“I am truly embarrassed by my actions and have let everyone down who has supported me on my basketball journey. There is no amount of regret that I can express that will correct this mistake. I understand that I am extremely fortunate to have been given the opportunity to play for KU and I recognize that I never should have let my emotions get the best of me, but unfortunately that is what happened. By doing so, I put the Kansas reputation at stake because of a moment of weakness and inconsideration.”

“I messed up and I am sorry.”

This is what you’d want to see from De Sousa. He was remorseful and showed contrition. He understands he’s fortunate to be given the opportunity to play for Kansas basketball and represent the university, especially in the wake of missing all of last year as he was embroiled in the ongoing wiretap investigations into pay for play.

De Sousa missed an entire season last year and now he’s going to miss a chunk of this season. His opportunities to make impressions on the basketball court and have a chance for a career in the NBA are dwindling.

The 21-year-old native of Angola knows he messed up but taking the game away from him is not the way to move forward.

For some reason, the public is enthusiastic about punitive damages for college athletes. The moment an 18-22-year-old badly messes up, the social media community calls for his removal from the university and no chance for a second chance.

Let the first person who went through their college years without a series of regrettable decisions and actions, please stand up.

Make no mistake, De Sousa is not some innocent victim here. He screwed up. He’ll pay the price for his actions, and it’s the appropriate price for his actions.

It would have been a sad story if De Sousa’s college career was ripped away from him for a momentary lapse in judgment. A momentary lapse shouldn’t define a person and I’m glad there’s the possibility for De Sousa to have the chance to grow from this ugly moment and not let it taint his career, his time at Kansas or his future prospects.

Regret can follow us closer than our own shadow but it’s now up to De Sousa to prove he’s worthy of traveling this road to redemption.

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