When things aren’t going your way, sometimes players lose their heads and the frustration spills onto the court. This appeared to be the case for Seton Hall guard Sterling Gibbs, who was suspended Tuesday for a blatant forearm to the face during the team’s loss to the Villanova Wildcats. Gibbs received a grade 2 Flagrant Foul during the squad’s fifth straight loss, and was later hit with a two game ban. The 15-11 Pirates have all but watched their NCAA Tournament chances wash away during the team’s skid, and would need a perfect finish to the season if they hoped to qualify for March Madness.
”Sterling demonstrated poor sportsmanship last night, and he recognizes that what he did was wrong and that he must be held accountable for his actions,” coach Kevin Willard said in a statement. ”This was out of Sterling’s character, and I believe this incident does not define the type of person he is or will become. Sterling will learn and grow from this unfortunate event.”
Gibbs is the team’s leading scorer averaging 16.7 points per game while starting all 26 of the Seton Hall games. The junior guard offered an apology to Villanova’s Ryan Arcidiacono via Twitter hoping to clear the air following his poor decision.
”My emotions got the best of me and that wasn’t acceptable at all,” Gibbs tweeted to Arcidiacono. ”I hope you’re alright and I will face any consequences coming.”
Arcidiacono accepted the apology and understood that some players get caught up in the heat of the moment. The apology is all good and well, but the Pirates will still be forced to play without Gibbs for two games, which could be devastating to any chances they had left.
*Section Photo credit to Al Bello, Getty Images; Featured Photo (above) credit to Eric Hartline, USA Today Sports.
