Fans who attended the Kansas State Wildcats’ season opener against South Dakota last Saturday definitely noticed there was something…er…out of place about the halftime show.
That “out of place” thing being the fact that it looked like band had arranged itself to stand in such a way that, from afar, it looked like the in-state and Big 12 rival Kansas Jayhawk was eating a giant phallic shape.
Band director Frank Tracz claimed that the controversial shape was supposed to be that of the Starship Enterprise, of Star Trek fame, but university officials clearly didn’t buy that.
In response, Tracz has been suspended for one game. Fox4 Kansas City offered more.
After Saturday’s game, the administration formally apologized to the chancellor and athletic director at the University of Kansas, which was the mascot depicted by the band,” the statement read. “K-State students previously signed a sportsmanship pledge as a way to increase the awareness of good sportsmanship.”
The penalties imposed by Kansas State:
1. A self-imposed $5,000 fine to be paid to the Big 12 for violation of league sportsmanship policy
2. A single-game suspension for the university director of bands. The suspension will take place for the game against Kansas on Nov. 28.
3. Prior approval for all content in the band’s halftime shows by representatives of the Office of Student Life and the Athletic Department.
Whether or not this was an intentional dig at Kansas or a case of a formation gone wrong, Kansas State officials responded perfectly. Though rivalries are a big part of the game, sportsmanship does still exist and while the image of the Kansas Jayhawk eating male genitalia could be hilarious to some, to do it in public was in poor taste.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
