By Gary Bedore
The Kansas City Star
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Kansas men’s basketball coach Bill Self said Thursday that he has not been presented any information about alleged crimes in McCarthy Hall that would lead to him to suspend any players from participation at this time.
“If there was an issue they wouldn’t be playing. There hasn’t been anything that has been brought to my attention that would keep anybody from playing,” Self said on the weekly Big 12 coaches teleconference.
Self was asked if he has heard none of his players would be named suspects in the reported rape of a 16-year-old girl in the hall, which houses the KU’s men’s basketball team and other male students.
“All I know is what I said yesterday. There’s an alleged incident that took place there,” Self said. “The people that were listed that are potential witnesses in some way, and that could be a plethora of ways as I’m sure you well know, what witness potentially could be.
“That’s all we know at this point. (I’m) certainly not going to minimize it at all because it’s such a serious potential allegation that took place in McCarthy Hall, but I’m also not going to draw something from it that in no way, shape or form have we been told is there right now.”
KU police have been investigating the reported rape and three other crimes that occurred between 10 p.m. Dec. 17 and 5 a.m. Dec. 18, according to a police report, which lists five witnesses, all Jayhawks’ basketball players. The police investigation remains open.
Self acknowledged the investigation is a distraction entering Saturday’s game at Kentucky. The KU athletic department is cooperating with police, according to both parties.
“I think anytime … it certainly is a distraction without question,” Self said. “The Kentucky game is a big game. It is probably as big a game for fans as it is for players. Certainly for players it’s a game you circle and look forward to playing whenever the season begins, whenever you start practicing.
“Sure it’s a distraction, I mean how could it not be,” he added, noting it’s a distraction only because, “you have to hear about it and go through it.”
Self also addressed the investigation at his weekly news conference Thursday afternoon.
“It’s not a distraction, it’s a major distraction,” he said. “Certainly, most importantly, I think sometimes when in general when you talk about distraction, you look at it how it affects us.
“But more importantly there’s an obviously serious alleged allegation that has been made. So that trumps figuring out how to guard (Kentucky’s players).”
Self said he and the athletic department were notified of the allegations the day they were reported to police. He was asked by a reporter during the news conference if there was discussion of “getting out in front of this around Dec. 18 so there wasn’t a perception of possibly holding information back?”
He answered: “I don’t know where you’re going but I don’t like it. There is nobody withholding information at all.
“If you wanted to discuss how it’s being handled go to the Lawrence Police Department [Editor’s note: KU police are conducting the investigation]. It’s not our responsibility to report everything that the Lawrence Police Department does, and it’s not their responsibility. I don’t think to report it because they have certain things they have to do to follow their protocol. Nobody’s hiding behind this at all.
“I kind of resent the fact that you would even hint at that.”
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
