Houston women’s basketball apologizes for actions in Kansas State game

Graduate forward Amirah Abdur-Rahim, graduate guard Briana Peguero and senior guard TK Pitts issued an apology for their actions in Houston’s loss to Kansas State on Wednesday, Jan. 7.

“We want to sincerely apologize to our teammates, coaches, the University of Houston community, the Big 12 Conference, and everyone who supports our program for our actions during our game against Kansas State,” the women wrote in a statement, which all three signed.

In the fourth quarter, with 6:38 left in the game, Abdur-Rahim and Wildcats’ sophomore forward Jenessa Cotton both fought for a rebound, which led to Abdur-Rahim being pushed to the ground.

This led to an on-court brawl, resulting in the ejections of Abdur-Rahim, Peguero, Pitts and Cotton. The Cougars’ redshirt senior guard Kyndall Hunter was also ejected for leaving the bench area.

“As leaders of this team, we take full responsibility for our involvement in a physical altercation that does not reflect who we are, the standards we hold ourselves to, nor the values this program represents. Competing with passion is part of the game, but allowing emotions to escalate into physical conflict is unacceptable and not what Houston Athletics stands for,” the statement continued.

Due to the incident, per NCAA rules on fighting, Abdur-Rahim, Peguero and Pitts were all suspended for Houston’s game against BYU.

“We understand that our actions have an impact beyond the court, and we regret the example and image it set for our teammates and future Cougars. We will use this as an opportunity to grow as athletes, leaders and representatives of the University of Houston.”