When something happens once, you can consider it a one-time event. But let it happen two or three times and it becomes a habit and a rep is formed. It’s happened to Draymond Green of the Golden State Warriors and now it’s happened to Duke guard Grayson Allen.
On Wednesday night in Duke’s game against Elon University, Allen gets tangled up with Elon’s Steven Santa Ana who goes down to the floor. But upon closer inspection, we realize that Santa Ana went to the floor because Allen got his Carl Douglas “Kung Fu Fighting” on and straight tripped his opponent.
Grayson Allen out here kicking people Draymond Green style. pic.twitter.com/Qtbp6Slk6v
Kyle Boone (@kylebooneCBS) December 21, 2016
Some might let this slide, especially since he plays for one of the cleanest college basketball programs in the country. But guess what. This is not the first time he’s done it, which should definitely be raising a lot of eyebrows right now. He was hit with a technical and sat on the bench for the remainder of the first half, where he proceeded to throw a wild tantrum.
He also later apologized, saying, “I made a really bad play. Im sorry to Santa Ana, sorry to the officials who have to call that, sorry to the team because its selfish and taking away from them. Im not proud of it at all.”
But from a repeat offender, apologies really don’t mount to much.
Grayson was caught twice last year tripping opposing players, and then tearfully apologized after getting caught, which is exactly what he did again last night. But enough is enough. His rep has been solidified and it’s time to put his actions to an end by suspending him.
This morning, Coach K stepped up and did just that, announcing that Grayson Allen has been suspended indefinitely with the following statement:
We have had the opportunity to thoroughly review the incident involving Grayson Allen from last nights game against Elon. As I stated last night, the incident was unacceptable and inexcusable. He took an important step last night by apologizing in person to Steven Santa Ana and Coach Matt Matheny. As a program, we needed to take further steps regarding his actions that do not meet the standards of Duke Basketball. To that end, we have determined that Grayson will be suspended from competition for an indefinite amount of time.
Some might applaud this decision but others might think that it’s a decision that arrived a season too late. He should have gotten hit with the suspension last year after the second offense. This type of action is horrendous, and could lead to a player being injured or, ultimately, to an on-court fight.
With this in mind, shouldn’t Coach K be held partially responsible for this situation happening again? He didn’t do anything last year, and neither did the ACC, so shouldn’t they receive a little heat as well?
Now that he’s been suspended indefinitely, we’ll have to see what happens next from Grayson, the team and the conference. And what if it happens again? Then what? Will it be considered immaturity, anger issues or something else?
Will he continue to receive the soft-handed treatment that he was used to receiving, similar to Johnny Manziel, where everyone repeats that “someone needs to help the young man” mantra while Allen does nothing to help or improve himself?
Regardless of what happens in the future, Grayson’s rep has been secured and he’ll always be recognized for straight tripping.
