The LSU-South Carolina brawl in the SEC Tournament championship game for women's basketball garnered a lot of attention, especially from Fox Sports' Rachel Nichols, who shared her interesting thoughts about the scuffle.
On Sunday, the No. 1 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks kept their unbeaten record intact after beating the LSU Tigers 79-72. However, a physical scuffle between the two teams broke out late in the fourth quarter, where multiple players were thrown out the court. A fan was also arrested for storming into the court.
Rachel Nichols and former NBA player and Kentucky Wildcat legend DeMarcus Cousins talked about the game on their podcast show, "Bully Ball with Rachel & Boogie."
The Fox Sports analyst said that although she doesn't "condone violence", she liked the physicality aspect of the LSU-South Carolina game, saying:
"I’m not trying to condone violence here, but … Just a little bit, but I loved it. I love seeing it come out the way it did. A little bit, coming out the way it did.
"Because, look, I just think that fieriness, that grittiness, that teams trying to win at all costs, that is something that we love about professional sports."
Rachel Nichols continued about perception of women in society.
"And it took women a long a** time to convince society that they deserve to be able to have those feelings too.
"You still have a segment of society though, who just kinds of pictures them, you know, skipping up and down the court, ladida, kumbaya, hitting long jumpers and not really getting into it. And I love that this sticks it in those people’s faces too, that that’s not what is happening here.
Rachel Nichols also mentioned that these games have value in women basketball, and the two competitive top-ranked teams could meet again in the post tournament.
"There are real stakes," she added. "There are real emotions. These teams are fighting, they are two of the top teams in the country. They may very well, they could square off for the title in the NCAA tournament."
What did Rachel Nichols' co-host DeMarcus Cousins say about the LSU-South Carolina brawl?
Rache Nichols' co-host DeMarcus Cousins talked at length about the brawl as well.
"I think passion and emotion are a huge part of any sport. It’s something that’s slowly trying to be push out of the game, and then we complain about not having that competitive edge.
"At the end of the day, we want, you know, the product on the floor to be at it’s best, competing at the highest level, and actually showing that they care, every possession, and every game, and allowing these emotions and passion in the game. I think those are the results you get."
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