Kansas' Silvio De Sousa Suspended 12 Games for Role in Kansas State Brawl

Kansas men's basketball sophomore forward Silvio De Sousa has been suspended 12 games for his role in a brawl between KU and Kansas State near the end of the Jayhawks' 81-60 home win Tuesday.

De Sousa was just one of four players suspended by the Big 12 as a result of the melee:

• Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa: 12 games
• Kansas forward David McCormack: two games
• Kansas State forward James Love: eight games
• Kansas State forward Antonio Gordon: three games

"This kind of behavior cannot be tolerated and these suspensions reflect the severity of last evening's events," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said of the brawl. "I am appreciative of the cooperation of both institutions in resolving this matter."

This discipline comes after head coach Bill Self had suspended De Sousa indefinitely.

"I have suspended Silvio De Sousa indefinitely pending the final outcome of the review by KU and the Big 12 Conference," Self announced earlier Wednesday. "As I said last night, we are disappointed in his actions, and there is no place in the game for that behavior."

Self and the Jayhawks expressed their support regarding the discipline in a statement, per the team's official website:

"Chancellor Girod, Jeff Long and I fully support the decision by the Big 12 Conference and appreciate their commitment to working through this situation with us. Like I said last night, I am disappointed and embarrassed by what transpired because there is no place for that type of behavior in any competition. After meeting with my team and discussing the incident in detail, it is evident that everyone fully understands the magnitude of their actions and all are remorseful for what occurred. We represent the University of Kansas and will all learn from this experience moving forward."

De Sousa took to social media to apologize for his actions:

De Sousa was seen picking up a stool in the middle of a scrum during the fight before dropping it:

Tyler Greever of WIBW and Rock Chalk Blog provided background on what led to the fight:

De Sousa is averaging 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks.

The 6'9" native of Angola came to Lawrence as a highly touted recruit out of IMG Academy in Florida, ranking 32nd on 247Sports' class of 2017 list. However, his KU career has not panned out, as Jeff Goodman of Stadium noted:

DeSousa had played eight or fewer minutes in seven of his past eight games.