Nova Southeastern coach reacts to Saint Leo president’s criticism after punching incident
Nova Southeastern University basketball coach Jim Crutchfield wanted to stay silent.
Then he saw Saint Leo University President Jeff Senese’s tweet.
“Posting one out of context video when your team violently fouls takes constant cheap shots and disrespects you in an unsportsmanlike manner every minute of the game is cowardly and weak!” Senese wrote Sunday evening in a since deleted tweet.
Upset and surprised, Crutchfield knew he had to say something.
“I felt like [Senese] had no good sense of right and wrong and the fact that he’s a college president is almost shocking,” Crutchfield said in a phone interview Tuesday.
The incident both Senese and Crutchfield referenced happened during Saturday’s basketball game between the two schools. Midway through the second half, Lions senior Isaiah Hill sucker-punched Sharks junior Nick Smith in the head prior to coming off a screen.
For Crutchfield, the punch was only part of the problem: Senese’s comments made an isolated incident part of a bigger question about Saint Leo.
“He represents Saint Leo University’s philosophy,” Crutchfield said.
On Monday, Saint Leo announced Hill would be suspended for the rest of 2019. The suspension seemed fit — that is, until realizing the Lions have only two more games left.
The suspension “does seem light but that’s not my decision to make,” Crutchfield added.
Three days after playing Saint Leo, Crutchfield still can’t figure out why Hill decided to throw a punch. The two teams weren’t rivals, had no previous bad blood and had played a rather clean game, he said.
“There had been no confrontations whatsoever in the game, no pushing shoving matches, [at] no time did officials step in and say ‘Hey cool it,’” Crutchfield said. “It was a normal college basketball game.”
In response to Crutchfield’s comments, Senese issued a statement Tuesday evening. His comments parroted that of the school’s Athletic Department except for the following lines:
“I support the decision of our coach and athletics administration [to suspend Hill]. This type of conduct will not be tolerated. I am saddened by this event as this behavior does not reflect who we are at Saint Leo University and apologize for any comments that suggest otherwise.”
The Sharks, who were ranked No. 1 in the most recent NABC Coaches Poll, will look to stay undefeated when they take on the Ave Maria University Gyrenes Wednesday at 7 p.m.
This story was originally published December 11, 2019 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Nova Southeastern coach reacts to Saint Leo president’s criticism after punching incident."
