Kansas State suspends Denis Clemente

By Case Keefer

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Kansas State suspends Clemente for one game

Denis Clemente has managed to add more fire to the rivalry between Kansas and Kansas State.

Kansas State coach Frank Martin suspended Clemente, a junior guard, from playing Tuesday against North Carolina Central for a slap that officials didn’t notice during Saturday’s 85-74 Kansas victory.

Clemente received a technical foul for elbowing sophomore guard Brady Morningstar on Saturday, but replays of the game showed that Clemente also slapped sophomore guard Tyrel Reed on the head after making a free-throw attempt.

Kansas coach Bill Self said the slap was obvious on the tape, but he also said he wasn’t doing anything about it.

“I’m not calling attention to it,” Self said. “But yeah, I saw it. You can’t help but see it if you watch the tape. “

The Jayhawks said they were not concerned about it.

“I didn’t know anything about it until today when people started talking about it,” Reed said Monday. “It’s over and done with.”

An issue that has irked Self, however, is an allegation made by GoPowercat.com editor Tim Fitzgerald. On his online show, “The Overdrive,” Fitzgerald said players on Kansas’ bench insulted Clemente by asking about his green card.

Self said that wasn’t true. The players said they knew nothing about it.

“Racial slurs, that’s not us. That’s not even in our character,” junior guard Sherron Collins said. “I don’t know where that came from, don’t know anything about it.”

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