No criminal charges in Crosstown Shootout brawl

CINCINNATI - There won't be any criminal charges filed in connection with Saturday's game-ending brawl Crosstown Shootout brawl.

Instead, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is letting the University of Cincinnati and Xavier University handle punishment themselves..

"This was an unfortunate situation," Deters said following a review of game footage and interviews with players and witnesses.  "After talking with both coaches, I truly believe that the teams will be able to deal with the situation more effectively than the criminal justice system."

UC and Xavier have each suspended four players for between one and six games.  UC will be without Yancy Gates and Cheikh Mbodj for six games and Octavius Ellis and Ge'Lawn Guyn for one game apiece.  Xavier suspended Landon Amos and Dezmine Wells each for four games and Tu Holloway and Mark Lyons for a game apiece.

Cincinnati is played at  Wright State Wednesday night and Xavier returns to the hardwood Sunday at home against Oral Roberts University.

Deters said he's aware that UC's Yancy Gates and Xavier's Kenny Frease have privately reached out to one another and that Frease is satisfied with Gates' apology.

Gates punched Frease in the face during the melee.

Student Government Presidents at UC and Xavier issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning the brawl for taking attention away from the mission of each school.

"As students we're here for one purpose and ultimately that's academics," said UC's Alan Hagerty.  "We need to keep that in mind through the incident that happened on Saturday."

Xavier's Ryan Alleman said both schools want the community to know that students have much more to offer than what was displayed on the basketball court Saturday

"Our students are here to get a world class education," he said.  "The events of Saturday really weren't representative of what our student bodies feel and believe."

The brawl is raising questions whether the annual rivalry should continue and, if he does, whether it should be played at a neutral site like U.S. Bank Arena, Downtown.

Both Hagerty and Alleman said they would hate to see the game eliminated or moved.

"I would like to see it continue, but I would like to see it be a safe environment, too, something that we can all celebrate together," Hagerty said.

Allenan said, "I think it's a great part of our tradition.  For being a Xavier student the last four years it's been a g great part of my experience."

It will be up to administrators to make that call, but the general sentiment is that changes need to be made surrounding the contest.

"If it can't be played the right way, it doesn't need to be played, whether it's next year or forever," said UC Coach Mick Cronin.

Xavier Coach Chris Mack said the next time the rivalry hopefully comes around the school will be wiser.

"How we handle ourselves in the media.  How we handle ourselves during the National Anthem.  The lead-up to the game and how we conduct ourselves during the game," said Mack.

Hagerty and Alleman said both student governments are working on ideas to avoid a repeat of the brawl.

"There are a lot of considerations you can take into play whether it's location or having the athletes not trash-talk before games," said Hagerty.

"How do student sections need to change?  How does the atmosphere around the game need to change," added Alleman.  "What sort of community service activities do we do?  What ways do we do to make this right for the Cincinnati community."

---------------------

This joint-message is sent on behalf of Alan Hagerty, Student Body President at the University of Cincinnati, and Ryan Alleman, Student Body President at Xavier University.

In response to the incident at Saturday's Crosstown Shootout, we would like to release the following statement on behalf of the student bodies of UC and Xavier.

We each represent outstanding academic institutions, as well as our fine City of Cincinnati. In that spirit, we must look beyond the emotions surrounding Saturday's game. Both universities take the events that occurred in the final seconds of the game very seriously; these incidents not only reflect poorly on those involved, but upon our student bodies, our universities, and the extended university communities.

As representatives elected by our student bodies, we both affirm that the incident on Saturday afternoon cannot be tolerated, and is not reflective of the best ideals of either university or our student communities. Both UC and Xavier are nationally recognized universities with long traditions of academic excellence.

Our universities set the highest of standards which we, as students, must aspire to meet. Students at our universities are committed to learning, both in and out of the classroom. We continue to grow and mature, every day, on our journey toward graduation. Together, we call upon our student communities to put their learning into action and serve as examples for their fellow peers. All students, not just student-athletes, are called