San Diego State is considered by many to be the favorite to win the Mountain West Conference.
That is, however, assuming that they can overcome their first test of the season -- the dreaded late night bar fight.
Jeffery Layno, a 30 year old SDSU alum, went on the news over the weekend to accuse four or five members of the Aztec basketball team of jumping him at a San Diego club. According to Layno, he went to say goodbye to a female friend that he went to the club with, and when he did, the basketball players -- who were dancing with the woman -- attacked him.
The club’s owner is telling a different tale:
“The girl started dancing with a couple other guys, and my people said it looked like (Layno) went into a jealous rage, pointing his finger in people’s faces,” James Brennan, owner of the popular Stingaree and several other San Diego nightclubs, said. “One thing led to another and there were shoves. And he used that to create a story, to make a name for himself.
“It’s a nonissue that got blown out of proportion. It’s a shame for these kids that this thing even got to this point. I went to USD and am a huge USD basketball fan, and I’d love nothing more than to see them suspended for our game (Dec. 11). ... But what’s not right is not right.”
A couple of thoughts on this matter. First of all, a club owner isn’t necessarily the most honest and trustworthy source of information. If his club is known as an athlete hang out, he wants to keep the athletes coming back. How does he do that? By having their back if they act up. That said, Layno doesn’t seem like a saint himself. I mean, he talks about pressing charges, but he went to the news before he went to the police. Says a lot, doesn’t it?
I also have a tough time believing that if Layno had gotten jumped by four or five SDSU basketball players, he would have ended up with just a scratch on his neck and a popped blood vessel in his eye. I’m just saying, he’s small, they’re big, and there is alcohol involved. You do the math.
I don’t foresee much coming of this. Barfights without serious injury are pretty far down on the list of what cops are worried about.
Rob Dauster is the editor of the college basketball website Ballin’ is a Habit. You can find him on twitter @ballinisahabit.