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Mississippi State Players fighting in stands between games

Hours after returning from a one-game suspension, Renardo Sidney may face a worse fate at Mississippi State.

Mississippi State teammates Renardo Sidney, far left, and Elgin Bailey, far right, had an altercation in the stands after the Bulldogs game on Thursday in Hawaii.

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By Eugene Tanner, AP

The sophomore forward and teammate Elgin Bailey were filmed by ESPNU cameras trading punches in the stands before a game between Utah and Hawaii at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu. The two were separated by Mississippi State assistant coach Marcus Grant. (see video below)

Bulldogs athletic director Scott Stricklin commented on the incident to The Clarion-Ledger via text message early Friday morning:

"It's disappointing. Still gathering information, but it's not how we want our school represented."

Mississippi State coach Rick Stansbury was not expected to release a comment on the altercation tonight. Stansbury told the Associated Press in Honolulu that he refused to comment until he "finds out all the facts."

Bulldogs point guard Dee Bost, who was not in Hawaii due to an NCAA suspension, said teammates told him Sidney "didn't start" the fight with Bailey, according to the junior's Twitter feed.

Bost took to Twitter to voice his concerns early Friday morning:

"Just feel bad that our fans and every1 has to witness this happen," the junior tweeted. "all I can say is SORRY!!!!!"

ESPN reported from the scene that Bailey had taken a cab back to the team hotel after the fight but Sidney remained in the arena at halftime of the Utah-Hawaii game. Mississippi State is scheduled to face Hawaii in the fifth-place game of the tournament on Christmas Day.

Sidney had just ended a one-game suspension for "conduct detrimental to the team," which forced him to miss the Bulldogs' loss to Washington State on Wednesday. Sidney came off the bench and scored 19 points in 19 minutes in the defeat of San Diego earlier Thursday in the tournament at the University of Hawaii. Sidney was suspended because of an outburst in practice Tuesday.

"I think that's the end," ESPN commentator Doug Gottlieb said of Sidney after footage of the fight was aired. "I think Rick Stansbury washes his hands of him."

Sidney was suspended just three days after the Jackson native made his highly anticipated collegiate debut in last Saturday's 88-57 loss to Virginia Tech in the Bahamas. Now, his future is even more uncertain after just two games as a collegian.

The sophomore forward didn't keep quiet about the suspension Tuesday. Sidney used the social networking website Twitter to voice his opinion on the suspension and react to comments directed at the 20-year-old who spent the bulk of the last two years dealing with an NCAA investigation and subsequent suspension.

"Haha," Sidney tweeted at one point Tuesday. "keep hating people am loving it…"

Sidney's road to MSU and subsequent fight for eligibility has been a long, bumpy and highly publicized journey.

A McDonald's All-American out of Los Angeles Fairfax High School in 2009 (his family moved to Los Angeles when he was in the ninth grade), Sidney sat out the 2009-10 season at MSU as the NCAA reviewed his case concerning possible amateurism violations.

The NCAA ultimately charged that Sidney received improper benefits in high school and that he lied to the organization during its investigation. He was ordered to repay $11,800 and sit out the first nine games of this season.

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