Kansas State point guard Denis Clemente made national news this week with his on court antics against the University of Kansas. Anyone who watches the local news or SportsCenter has surely seen the elbow to Brady Morningstar’s back and the punch to the back of Tyrel Reed’s head. Many in the national media are labeling Clemente as a “thug” and are calling for his suspension, while his own fans and local media label him as a victim of racist oppression by the Jayhawks. Regardless of where your thoughts on Clemente lie, the island of Puerto Rico has a big part to play in this whole fiasco.
The island of Puerto Rico has a long and storied tradition, with a people who are proud of their unique culture. It is a mixture of Indian, African, Spanish, and American influences that coalesce into a culture that is not your typical Latin flavor, it is distinctly Puerto Rican. This little island of nearly 4 million people has produced some of the greatest baseball players in the history of the game, with legends like Orlando Cepeda, Pudge Rodriguez, and Denis’ cousin Roberto Clemente.
If anyone watched the game against Kansas last Saturday, it was next to impossible to not know that Denis Clemente was from Puerto Rico and that Roberto Clemente was his cousin. I have not had the chance to go back through the tape and dissect the number of times that the announcers mentioned this little known fact, but my guess would be that they mentioned it at least 20 times. Considering the game was nationally televised as well, the entire country should now be aware of who Denis Clemente is and that he is indeed Roberto Clemente’s cousin.
Roberto Clemente is considered a hero on the island of Puerto Rico, and to most of Latin America in general. He was a pioneer for racial justice and the consummate competitor on the diamond. He carried himself like a gentleman on the field and was a champion of the downtrodden off the field. He died tragically in a plane crash that was delivering relief supplies to earthquake victims in Guatemala in 1972. With family like this, having the last name Clemente requires that you carry yourself with a certain degree of civility and equanimity.
Puerto Rico has another passion when it comes to the sporting world, Boxing. I am an avid fan of Boxing and Puerto Rico has long a storied tradition, with 57 world champions claiming the tiny island as their place of birth. Current greats like Miguel Cotto and Felix Trinidad are just the most recent champions in long line of greats that stretch back to my favorite boxer of the 80’s, Hector Camacho. If anyone should be related to Denis Clemente, it should be Hector Camacho. Camacho was lightning quick, just like Denis. Camacho is from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, just like Denis. Camacho was flamboyant and emotional, just like Denis. Camacho was known as a light puncher, just like Denis.
When Sports Illustrated described Hector “Macho” Camacho’s fighting style in 1982, they remarked.
“the purist’s blend of artistry and speed, and only occasionally reverts to some of the less refined moves he learned in the streets. He has been known to hit on the break and has a knack for spinning an opponent and then whacking him from behind.”Denis Clemente may have been poked and prodded by the Jayhawks relentless defense until it reached a point that he could take no more. It was evident that Clemente was torching the nets against Kansas in the first half, pacing the Wildcats with 18 points at the break. Bill Self and company had to come up with a viable solution to slow Clemente down. That solution was to throw bodies at him and play as physical as possible. Clemente almost single handedly fouled out two of Kansas’ guards in Tyshawn Taylor and Brady Morningstar, but Morningstar had the last laugh. His tough physical defense finally caused Denis “Macho” Clemente to lose his cool and get a technical that changed the game from a 2 point game into a 10 point lead for the Jayhawks within a few minutes.
Most people would be pretty upset if they got a technical foul that caused the other team to go on a 8-0 run and pull away from your team for good, but Denis Clemente was unrepentant.
“I deserved it, but I got my respect. You’re in my house. You’re not doing that to me.”This half baked apology clearly shows the inner Camacho that lies in the heart of Denis Clemente. He is more concerned with self respect and saving face, than helping his team win for a second year in a row against Kansas. He showed his final inner Camacho by hitting Tyrel Reed in the back of the head on a blockout after a missed free throw as well. Kansas State fans and their local media have stooped to an even lower level by claiming that the Kansas players were making threatening and racial remarks to Clemente throughout the game.
Instead of Kansas State fans and media being critical of Clemente’s actions, they are being obtuse and defensive. There may be some truth to gopowercat.com’s assertion that KU players were making insensitive remarks and yelling at Clemente to “get a green card”. The problem is that no one is backing the story up other than the gopowercat website and Bill Self has called it “crap”. Even if this were true, it just shows an ignorance of geography and politics that they would think that Clemente even needs a green card considering that Puerto Rico is a US territory and all Puerto Ricans are considered United States citizens. At least the K-State coaching staff recognized the issue and suspended Clemente for his actions, even though they conveniently played North Carolina Polytechnical A&M. Kansas State fans on the other hand have been calling into local radio and defending Clemente’s actions and posting youtube videos that appear to show Morningstar punching Clemente on the play in question. Regardless of your school affiliation, people need to realize that this type of behavior is not acceptable on a basketball court.
Denis Clemente is an impressive basketball talent with a great shooting stroke, but like all people he is a flawed human being. Clearly he let his emotions get to him in the heat of the moment against KU, but lets hope that he can learn to reel in his inner Camacho moving forward. When he channels his inner Camacho he can be one of the best players in the Big XII, like his 44 point performance against Texas. When he lets it get the best of him, he looks like the impulsive firecracker we saw last Saturday. Lets hope moving forward that he can learn a few lessons from his famous cousin Roberto and start carrying himself like a gentleman.
