Much has been made of my recent opinion piece “Shut Up and Play”. I have been labeled everything from a hack to things that cannot be reprinted here, and the article itself has been termed everything from ludicrous to libelous. For the record, the article was an opinion piece and was therefore labeled as such, but it is refreshing to know that there are many others out there who share my opinion about the direction the women’s game has taken lately. Yes, I put a big-time program in a not-so-very-flattering spotlight, but I also called to task any programs that were allowing such displays on the court to continue unchallenged and unabated.

Yesterday’s Sweet Sixteen matchup between LSU and Oklahoma State saw some of the behavior I addressed in “Shut Up and Play” on display and what can result when matters get out of hand. LSU’s Erica White and Oklahoma State’s Andrea Riley had been going at it all afternoon, with each one doing their fair share of jawing back and forth. For the record, each of these two young women are excellent athletes who are vital cogs to their respective programs. White, LSU’s point guard, has been described by coach Van Chancellor as the player who runs the team and who is the heart and soul of the Lady Tiger squad. Riley, a gifted guard who can shoot from anywhere on the court, was the only player keeping the Cowgirls in this game, hitting 13 of her team’s first 16 points. But what began as verbal sparring between these two turned far uglier as the game progressed. Riley blocked a White jumper in the lane and seemed to have a few words to add to it afterwards. White can be seen answering her as they turned back down court, but what happened next is both inexcusable and unexplainable, as you can see for yourself in the video posted below.

Riley drives down the left side of the lane with White on her hip, and puts up a shot which misses. As they are fighting for position on the rebound, Riley cheap shots White with an open-handed hit to the head. It is inexcusable that a player would allow their emotions to get so out of hand that they would strike another player in such a manner, but what is unexplainable is the fact that THREE officials missed the cheap shot thrown by Riley. At the very least it was technical-worthy, and the ESPN analysts back in the studio remarked she was lucky to have not been ejected from the game. I wholeheartedly agree.

In a classy move by Van Chancellor, he subbed White out of the game, allowing her to cool off on the bench for a few moments to circumvent any natural tendency towards retaliation she may have been tempted to show. Sadly, Oklahoma State’s coach, Kurt Budke, didn’t do the same. I find it hard to believe that not a single person on OSU’s coaching staff saw Riley hit White. Instead, it seems as if they chose to ignore it and leave her in the game. I guess it’s hard to remove your only productive player from the lineup when you’re getting beat. Riley finished as the only player in double-digits for OSU with 26. To White’s credit, when she re-entered the contest, she let her game speak for itself. White led her team with 18 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals and was the spark which ignited LSU into their fifth straight Elite Eight appearance.

“Trash talking”, long a fixture in the men’s game, has become more and more commonplace in women’s college basketball over the past few years, and it is a trend which adds nothing positive to the game. Players who “trash talk” and direct their celebrations at an opponent may get their 15 seconds of fame on an ESPN low-light reel, but those are not the players who deserve to be emulated. Many players, and thereby the coaches who allow it to continue, view “trash talking” as just one more way to gain advantage over an opponent through mental intimidation - a way of getting into the opponent’s head. But does this not feed into the mindset of victory by any means necessary? When left unchecked, incidences such as that which occurred yesterday will become more commonplace. “Trash talking” can lead to disastrous results when immature players can’t stop their emotions at their mouth and allow it to progress to their hands.

So what’s the answer? If the officials are unable or unwilling to put a stop to on-court antics such as what was seen yesterday, then it is up to the coaches to step in and take control of their players, such as Van Chancellor did with White. Good sportsmanship never goes out of style. Let your game speak for itself. Everything else is just unnecessary.