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December 8, 2007
Missouri fans and critics of the Kansas University football team's berth to the Orange Bowl will seize on KU basketball player Brandon Rush's arrest Thursday for unpaid traffic tickets.That is the primary reason for the uproar over Rush's arrest for failure to attend two court dates for routine traffic violations ... well, besides the usual paranoia that always overtakes the KU fan base any time something like this happens.This is a chance for those who don't like KU to kick it while it's down. After all, Missouri fans felt like they'd been kicked in the crotch when they were left out of the BCS and rival Kansas wasn't. And Kansas State fans are ticked that their football team choked away a dynamite start to the season and limped to the finish in embarrassing fashion. That explains any verbal shots coming from the east or the west.It's just a coincidence that Rush's traffic troubles popped up days after the BCS was announced, and the already livid KU rivals were more than willing to pounce.Meanwhile, some Kansas fans are in a panic over this little mishap. It's flat-out silly.During his three years in Lawrence, Rush has played hard on the court and maintained a low profile off of it. He has represented his school and team in a positive manner.If his lone hiccup along the way is a late payment for some traffic infractions, that's fine. Let it go.It's not like he was involved in a fight or some other sort of public disturbance. It's not like the traffic violations were hit-and-run accidents or DUIs.This doesn't even compare to former Jayhawk Jeff Hawkins' auto incident in the drive-thru lane of a fast food joint.Plus, he was arrested when he stopped by the Lawrence Municipal Court to pay for the tickets. It's not like he was hauled out of practice in handcuffs. If this were a big deal to the authorities, he's not a hard guy to find around town. He has a pretty recognizable face.No, they busted him while he was trying to rectify the problem. He missed his court date on Nov. 28, the day of the Florida Atlantic game. Explanations that he either wrote down the wrong date or forgot during the course of a busy day of classes and game-day preparation are understandable, but neither change the fact that he should have been more responsible.Still, it's silly to get bent out of shape over this. Once again, it's a frickin' traffic violation, and he was trying to take care of it.Rush will not be suspended because of this, nor should he be. The embarrassment he has caused for himself, and the financial cost he will endure, are punishment enough.Now, let's move on.
Comments
hawkman1031 (anonymous) says...
Agreed. This is a non-issue. Moving on is easy.
Personally, I am wondering why my striped friend has not spoken to me since the bowls were announced. Not a word did I utter, yet he does not answer. Not even a text. You don't suppose he is eating the sourest of grapes...
and although I was not actually rooting for them, I did say that I hoped OU fumbled 5 or 6 times...
Of course, now I couldn't be more pleased with OU.
Oh, those poor, poor tiger lilly hillbillies. They shouldn't have thrown ice at me. Now I laugh in their face.
December 9, 2007 at 8:45 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )