Renardo Sidney’s odyssey at Mississippi State might have hit the point of no return late Thursday night.
Hours after returning from a one-game suspension, when Sidney scored 19 points in 19 minutes in a victory over San Diego, ESPN cameras caught a fight between Sidney and MSU teammate Elgin Bailey during a game between Utah and Hawaii.
MSU athletic director Scott Stricklin sent out a tweet on Friday saying “The actions that took place in Hawaii were embarrassing to all of us who love Mississippi State. This behavior will not be tolerated.”
In a release from the university, coach Rick Stansbury expressed his disappointment.
“In my 13 years as a head coach, we’ve never had anything like this happen before,” he said. “I am very disappointed in the actions of Elgin Bailey and Renardo Sidney and in no way does it reflect the overall picture of our program. It is not how we want our men’s basketball team to be viewed nationally.”
Both players were suspended and sent home from Hawaii.
Sidney had been suspended for State’s first game of the tournament after an on-court altercation during the Bulldogs’ practice Tuesday. Sidney spent the bulk of the last two seasons dealing with an NCAA investigation and a subsequent suspension. He did not play during the 2009-10 season.
ESPN commentator Doug Gottlieb said he believes this is “the end” for Sidney while cameras showed footage of the fight with Bailey.
MSU assistant coach Marcus Grant broke up the fight between Sidney and Bailey. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play again today.
http://www.sunherald.com/2010/12/24/2735645/msus-sidney-bailey-suspended-after.html
Kid was a big prospect coming into college, and was supposed to be a big one and done player, but multiple suspensions have put an end to that. He sat out his entire freshman year due to suspension by the NCAA due to violation of their rules, and now he gets in this public fight, and may very well not play at Miss State again. What a waste of talent.
