This past Saturday’s basketbrawl between the Cincinatti Bearcats and Xavier Musketeers didn’t go without punishment– both internally by both teams and from their respective conferences–but it appears that the punishment may not yet be complete.
According to several sources, prosectors from the Hamilton County District Attorney’s office are reviewing tape from the incident and considering the possibility of filing criminal charges against those involved.
According to Hamilton County district attorney Joe Deters:
“My office will review the matter to determine whether any criminal charges are appropriate. We will have no further comment until a decision is reached.”
This could be an interesting turn of events on the backside of a very embarrasing and regrettable incident for both schools.
On the surface, it’s somewhat difficult to understand what charges could be considered by the office of a District Attorney who is typically responsible for filing and prosecuting offenders on felony charges.
Is there something in the tape which the office has considered that would signal that felony charges could be forthcoming?
For now, it’s all speculation, but the facts are sure to emerge in coming days.
The fact that players from Xavier exacerbated the situation with their post-game press conference statements certainly doesn’t help, and may have triggered an investigation which may not have otherwise occured without such comments.
Either way, this incident will change the short-term fate of both basketball programs at Cincinnati and Xavier, and could indeed prove to have a longer-term affect on both schools if charges are indeed filed.
Technorati Tags: cincinnati basketball, college basketball, xavier basketball
Original Story:
http://www.fanattic.net/basketball/cr...
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December 12, 2011
