“A pocket knife was thrown and hit one of our staff members,” Leipold said. “It’s ridiculous. It’s a culture that has been accepted to a point and hasn’t changed. And eventually, someone is going to be seriously hurt.”
Overly dramatic comments about flour-based food products aside, Kansas would have been in the right if someone from the stands had thrown the knife, but that did not appear to be the case. Video evidence emerged that showed the pocket knife appearing to fall out of a Kansas staffer’s pocket. Coach Lance Leipold made the false claim during the postgame press conference last weekend.
Then-Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark decided to enact a new policy that stated that any object thrown onto the “playing enclosure” would result in a penalty. The second and each subsequent offense would result in a penalty and a $100,000 fine to the offending university. Although there are a multitude of problems with that ruling, including enforcement and monitoring issues, Hocutt made the decision to head off the problem on Monday.
“The stakes are too high,” Hocutt continued. “We need to help, not risk penalizing our team again for throwing tortillas. Simply, let’s not do it.”
This decision comes on the heels of the Red Raiders’ first loss of the season to Arizona State. Tech fell 26-22 after taking the lead late, but allowed a go-ahead score with 30 seconds remaining. Texas Tech came out flat and played poorly on offense for most of three quarters before the offense finally came alive in the fourth quarter. However, it proved too little too late in the end as Arizona State dashed the Red Raiders’ hopes of a perfect season.
Even with the loss, Texas Tech remains the favorite to win the Big 12 this season. One of the reasons Hocutt made the decision on Monday stems from what a special year the Red Raiders are experiencing on the football field.
“The moment we sit in today, is one that Red Raiders have dreamed about for a long, long time,” Hocutt said. “And this team, Coach McGuire, his coaching staff, and our fan base have worked extremely hard toward this goal. We can accomplish it week by week. So simply, we cannot risk letting our actions penalize our football team.”
No. 14 Texas Tech hosts Oklahoma State on Saturday, Oct. 25.