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IU great Alan Henderson codemns profane chants, AD Fred Glass apologizes
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The Purdue-Indiana game on Tuesday night provided was an exciting rivalry matchup that provided plenty of ups and downs and included a game-winning bucket with three seconds left. It was an ugly, scrappy, hard-fought contest that had both fanbases on the edge of their seats.
While the game-winning bucket and the sloppy play were the primary topics of interest after the matchup, there was a not-so-pleasant issue that slightly marred the thrilling finish.
It was a three-word chant the echoed through Assembly Hall and was audible through the television broadcast: “(Bleep) you, Haarms!”
That chant has been a topic of discussion since the crowd in Bloomington started it in the first half of Tuesday night’s game. And a former player and Indiana’s athletic director weren’t too thrilled to have Indiana University represented in that light.
According to Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star, IU AD Fred Glass called his counterpart at Purdue, Mike Bobinski, to apologize about the chant. Former Hoosier great Alan Henderson went off about the situation on Twitter.
Here’s the four-tweet rant Henderson went on about the chants at Assembly Hall:
What’s going on in assembly hall? Win or lose, we should not hear curse chants at opponents & read about it in @indystar That’s not what @IndianaMBB is about. Someone needs to shut that down! On the PA system whenever it starts. It’s disrespectful to all the players, former & now
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
we beat @templeuniv to go to sweet 16 in 1994. Coach Cheney got on our bus after &congratulated us. Said we aren’t his enemy just his opponent. Never forget that. @IndianaMBB Fans need to keep that in mind when cussing a @BoilerBall kid that’s just trying to hoop. #balldontlie
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
Come on to a couple of these replies…just like I tell my kids. Even if someone else does/says something to you. You are responsible for your own reaction/actions. What they do/say is on them. So don’t gimme that ‘ but they were cussing too’ argument. #iubb
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
All that takes away from the fact that the team played hard last night. Few mistakes late which is just part of the game. But it wasn’t lack of effort. Came up short against a solid team. But they competed. Just have to keep at it! @IndianaMBB
— Alan Henderson (@44AlanHenderson) February 20, 2019
Henderson played for Indiana under head coach Bobby Knight from 1991-95, leading the team in rebounding all four years. He averaged 23.5 points per game as a senior and was selected in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft.
Though Haarms was the target of the IU fans on Tuesday, he also got the best revenge possible, scoring the game-winning basket with just 3.2 seconds left, lifting Purdue to a 48-46 victory.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB