Don Fischer Explains Comment About Being 'Embarrassed' For Indiana Basketball

After Indiana guard CJ Gunn was ejected from Friday's game at Wisconsin, a 91-79 loss and the second Hoosier ejection in four games, play-by-play announcer Don Fischer said, "I am embarrassed for this ball club. Not because of the score." Fischer joined the 107.5 The Fan radio show with Jake Query on Monday afternoon to further explain his comments.

In the second half of Indiana's 91-79 loss at Wisconsin on Friday, Don Fischer, Indiana's Hall of Fame play-by-play radio broadcaster, made a comment that caught the attention of many fans.

"I have never said this before in my 51 years behind the microphone at Indiana University," Fischer said. "But I am embarrassed for this ball club. Not because of the score."

The comment came shortly after Indiana sophomore guard CJ Gunn received a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game for elbowing Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit in the chin after Klesmit put his head on Gunn's chest. 

Gunn became the second Hoosier in a four-game stretch to be ejected from a game. Senior Xavier Johnson received a Flagrant 2 foul and was ejected during Indiana's 66-57 loss at Rutgers on Jan. 9.

Indiana’s CJ Gunn has been ejected 😳pic.twitter.com/saoBB7Q5xF

— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) January 20, 2024

Here's the replay from the altercation between #Rutgers Antwone Woolfolk and #Indiana's Xavier Johnson, which led to Johnson being ejected.

More on https://t.co/wegN4qFyhs pic.twitter.com/uVOVWs05PE

— Rutgers Scarlet Knights | The Knight Report (@RutgersRivals) January 10, 2024

Fischer joined the 107.5 The Fan radio show with Jake Query on Monday afternoon to expand on his comment.

"Quite simply, this. Two situations like that in the last two weeks frustrated me," Fischer said. "It frustrated me because these players have been told about this. They've been warned that you don't do these kinds of things. Every player gets that indoctrination when he comes to school. And obviously it's happened now twice, granted I didn't get to see the replay, the slow-motion replay of CJ's situation. I didn't think that was as egregious as I thought it was in real time, but it still can't happen." 

"So I was embarrassed, not about the team, not about the play of the game, nothing about that at all. It was about the situation taking place for a second time, and I just felt like that needed to be said. But I didn't probably put it in the terms because everything was misconstrued like I was blasting the team and all that. That's not what I was doing."

In his postgame press conference, Indiana coach Mike Woodson addressed Gunn's ejection.

"In the heat of battle, anything is liable to happen," Woodson said. "I’m not happy about it. After looking at it, the kid put his head on his chest and he threw a semi-elbow. I don’t think it was something hard that warrants being kicked out of the game. But again, I can't control that. He was kicked out."

At the time of the ejection, Indiana trailed Wisconsin 61-44 with 12:50 left in the game. Klesmit made both free throws to add to the lead, which ballooned to 67-44 less than a minute later, the Badgers' biggest lead of the game. 

Indiana ended up outscoring Wisconsin 53-52 in the second half and losing by 12 points, largely thanks to a trio of 3-pointers in the final two minutes. But the Hoosiers never seriously threatened a comeback outside of a 9-0 run that cut Wisconsin's lead to 49-42 with 14:58 left in the game. 

Fischer pointed to the ejection as a key moment in the game.

"Well, there's no question Wisconsin's really good, but there's no doubt that started the downfall," Fischer said. "When somebody gets kicked out of a ball game, it's not just affecting that player. It affects your basketball team, let's face it, that's just the facts. To have it, again, to have it happen a second time in two weeks, that is frustrating beyond belief for the coaching staff and for the rest of the team. There's no doubt about it that it had a factor."

"Indiana was able to score a bunch of points in the second half, and they hung with Wisconsin the rest of the way and, in fact, outscored them by a point in the second half, but the damage was already done. Obviously that situation didn't help because Indiana was on a drive at that point, or at least they were playing better that they had earlier in the ball game. But as Mike Woodson said in the postgame show, you can't give up 91 points and expect to beat anybody. Offense was very good in that ball game, at least more so than what we saw in the first half and certainly better than what we've seen the last couple of weeks. But you've got to play better than that, and you've got to play that through the ball game for 40 minutes. You just can't take that in one segment of the contest."

Indiana Hoosiers guard CJ Gunn (11) speaks with a coach as he is ejected for a flagrant 2 foul on Wisconsin Badgers guard Max Klesmit (11) during the second half of their game on Friday January 19, 2024 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis :: Jovanny Hernandez / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

On his radio appearance Monday, Fischer was later asked if Woodson has given a clear message to the team that situations like this can't continue to happen.

"I don't think there's any doubt about that," Fischer responded. "I know that that message has been transferred, so without question it can't happen again. There's just no doubt. This ball club I think knows that. I think the players now know it, not that they didn't know it before, but I would tell you that the proper actions or reactions to that situation have definitely been addressed."

Fischer's comment garnered plenty of discussion on social media during and after the loss, which dropped the Hoosiers to 12-7 overall and 4-4 in Big Ten play. While Fischer said he isn't on social media himself, he understands the impact plays like that can have on a program's reputation, beyond just the Indiana fan base.

"From my perspective, my frustration was with getting a second situation like that in two weeks, and it upset me," Fischer said. "And it upset me, not just for myself, I think it upsets our program. I think it upsets the Hoosier Nation. I think it upsets the coaching staff. I think it upsets the rest of the players on the team. You don't want that to occur because then you get a reputation. So from my perspective, that was the frustration I had with it." 

"I probably didn't express myself properly as well as I could at that point, but obviously I said what I said. People took it the way they wanted it to mean, but it had nothing to do with the coaching staff or the team at that point. It was simply that scenario taking place for a second time."

Query said he thought Fischer's initial comments during the game were fair and accurate, but Fischer said he could have given a more proper explanation.

"The fact of the matter is that when something like that happens, you've got to handle yourself with a little bit more 'esprit de corps' so to speak and with the proper explanation," Fischer said. "I don't think that I probably said it in the proper fashion, but at the same time it is what I felt."

Indiana has this week off before traveling to No. 10 Illinois on Saturday for a 3 p.m. ET tipoff. 

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