No matter the sport, or the level, competition brings out the best and worst in people. Whether it's an athlete and team or a parent on the sideline, there are definitely times when things can get out of hand. What happened at a women's basketball game in Montgomery, Alabama took that to the absolute extreme.
The game was over. Texas Southern took down Alabama State, 81-54, at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome. However, it got chippy when the final buzzer sounded and things quickly turned ugly.
Players from both college basketball teams started pushing. Then punches were thrown. The next thing anyone knows, two opponents were going at it so much it moved the scorer's table and it took everyone from coaches to police officers to separate the women.
The entire postgame incident was captured on film and has gone viral on social media.
Alabama State-Texas Southern Brawl
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It's not terribly uncommon that a brawl breaks out after games. Unfortunately, it happens several times each year. There's no way to really stop it, but both university's are looking into the situation.
Alabama State had statements released by Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jennifer Lynne Williams and ASU President Quinton T. Ross Jr.
"We are investigating the incident that occurred Monday night, February 3, at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome at the conclusion of the women's basketball game," Williams said. "The conduct of a few of our women's basketball players at the end of the game was unacceptable. That type of behavior is not a true reflection of who we are at Alabama State University. We have begun the necessary steeps to review all of the footage from the event, along with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) officials to determine the appropriate action necessary. I would like to apologize to Texas Southern University, the South Western Athletic Conference and Hornet Nation for the lack of sportsmanship from members of our team. There is no place in the world of college athletics for this type of behavior."
"I am extremely disappointed by the behavior of our women athletes at the end of their game against Texas Southern University," Ross added. "Alabama State University has a zero-tolerance policy for this type of behavior. As stated by the Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Jennifer Williams, the matter is being investigated by here department in conjuncture with the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The University's actions will be guided by the results of that investigation."
Texas Southern Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Kevin Granger also released a statement.
"We are deeply disappointed by the events which took place at the conclusion of Monday night's game," he said. "The incident haas overshadowed the efforts of our team's success on the court and this directly counters the expectations of sportsmanship which has been placed upon our student-athletes by Texas Southern and the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The SWAC and both universities are actively reviewing the events which took place last night in order to bring closure to this unfortunate incident."
In all, 10 players were suspended after the brawl — five players from each team. Two student managers from Alabama State were also suspended, per Click2Houston.
The massive brawl between the Alabama State and Texas Southern women's basketball teams was definitely one of the ugliest in women's basketball. Let's just be thankful nobody was seriously hurt.
This post was originally published on February 5, 2020.
