It’s been a rough few weeks for Kansas basketball. While the Jayhawks are, as usual, expected to have one of the top programs in the sport this year, Kansas received a Notice of Allegations from the NCAA towards the end of September that, per USA TODAY, “includes three Level 1 violations tied primarily to recruiting and cites a lack of institutional control.”
All of this has the potential to serve as a gigantic problem for the program, even if head coach Bill Self said that he feels ok about everything. It probably helped that the team officially kicked off its preseason on Friday night with its annual Midnight Madness celebration, Late Night in the Phog. This year included a special performance by Snoop Dogg, which seemed like a good time, even if the Jayhawks felt the need to apologize for it.
https://twitter.com/kyle__boone/status/1180280884727029760?s=21
Snoop performed at the end of the evening, and decided to put on a show. Per videos from those who were in attendance, Snoop had pole dancers and — in an act that made me laugh but I can only assume caused the NCAA’s office in Indianapolis to burn down — a money gun that he fired into the crowd.
DOGG IN THE PHOG #SnoopDogg #GinAndJuice #LateNightInThePhog #KUBBall #Jayhawks pic.twitter.com/yQqwhyx78w
— Randy Withers (@RandyWithersKC) October 5, 2019
Sports! #kubball pic.twitter.com/rNdTMhJwB6
— Benton Smith (@BentonASmith) October 5, 2019
Snoop Dog brought a money gun. pic.twitter.com/MliY97ZlTO
— Michael Swain (@MSwain247) October 5, 2019
In an attempt to ease any hard feelings from those who weren’t into this, Kansas athletic director Jeff Long released a statement apologizing for the lack of a “family atmosphere.”
Statement from KU AD Jeff Long regarding tonight's Snoop Dogg performance at Late Night in the Phog… #KUbball pic.twitter.com/4eHbU4YsQQ
— Matt Tait (@mctait) October 5, 2019
Self also addressed the performance. According to Scott Chasen of Phog.net, Self said that he left early but was still apologetic.
“Regardless of the entertainment it provided many, it was still not the right way to provide the entertainment,” Self said. “I only stayed for a couple songs. I wasn’t feeling well so I went back in the locker room. So I didn’t see the majority of what went down but certainly I got a pretty good idea based on the first couple songs.”
We will research whether this is the case, but I have to imagine this is the first time a program under NCAA investigation has ever kicked off its season with a concert that involved someone shooting a money gun into the crowd.
