In the court where it matters most, Ricky Clemons is still innocent until proven guilty. But in the arenas of the unforgiving, unsympathetic and totally unloving Big 12, where the court of public opinion does not believe in such things as due process, cold-blooded verdicts have already been determined.
In the 2 1/2 weeks since Clemons’ arrest on charges he choked and beat a female acquaintance, the Missouri University junior guard has been treated rudely by the wicked frat-house humor of the student bodies of Texas, Nebraska and, Monday night, the rowdy denizens of Kansas’ Allen Fieldhouse.
Fans there relentlessly taunted the 5-foot-11 guard from the moment he stepped on the court for KU’s 76-70 victory.
Long before the building filled to capacity, a young woman in a white T-shirt stood beneath the basket where Clemons warmed up and began unmercifully taunting him by putting both her hands around her neck as if she were choking herself.
The young woman’s gimmick was that she was supposed to be Clemons’ girlfriend. The final, cleverly offensive touch was that she wore makeup that made her look like she had been beaten up, right down to a phony black eye.
As she stood there trying to unnerve him, Clemons never flinched. He just kept on about his business, which was getting ready to play a big game. He did not bother to look at the derisive placards in the student section that mocked him and his alleged indiscretion.
He did not change his expression as the Tigers came out for their final warmups and the building, now filled to the rafters, began echoing with boorish chants from the entire student section.
“Wo-man beat-er! Wo-man beat-er!” they bellowed at the top of their lungs.
Clemons’ face was stone cold and unmoved. He dribbled and shot, dribbled and shot, and acted as if he were in an empty gym.
“I’m used to it,” he said following the game. “I’ve been dealing with it since the incident. I just block it all out.”
If this is as bad as it gets for Clemons on the road, he ought to consider himself incredibly fortunate. Having been to enough college hoop arenas around the country, I find Kansas’ student body among the least mean-spirited in the land.
At one point, in a truly graceful, classy move, KU head coach Roy Williams even motioned the crowd to stop its “woman beater” chant, and they did so on command.
Now trust me, there are other places on the college basketball map that would not be so accommodating. On the road in the ACC, Big East or SEC, things can get X-rated and downright ugly.
If Clemons is innocent of the allegations, it is a shame that he must endure this rude and insensitive treatment.
But if he did anything close to what he is accused of, the least of his worries should be the boorish treatment by the court of public opinion.
