Every football player hates to lose, and sometimes that passion can get the better of a few. On Saturday night, the South Alabama Jaguars and Eastern Michigan Eagles engaged in a brief but ugly brawl after Saturday’s 68 Ventures Bowl at Hancock Whitney Stadium. An Eagles player allegedly punched a Jaguars player after the game finished 59-10 in favor of the visitors.
Both teams finished the season with six wins and six losses and were looking to close the season on a high. But it ended up being a blowout, and the Eagles players did not take the beating down kindly. After the game wrapped up, the Jaguars were players celebrating the victory, singing along with the students’ section on the ground.
Shortly after, an Easter Michigan player appeared to punch South Alabama’s defensive back Jamarrien Burt in the head from behind. Fellow defensive back Brian Dillard (Burt’s older brother) and, one by one, several other Jaguars players jumped in to help.
Now the problem is that there’s contention as to who was the player who started the mess. A short clip showed that the Eagles player was wearing a #5 jersey. But Michigan has two players with #5 printed on their shirts.
The East Michigan Eagles and South Alabama Jaguars will look into the matter
While passion is a quality required to survive in the competitive environment of football, it’s better to keep it from boiling over. Even in high school and college football games, players get into fights. This should be avoided because it’s a bad look not just for the players involved but also for the institutions as well.
The end of the Eagles-Jaguars game is a good example of not keeping the players in check. Although coaches from both sides claimed they missed the initial moment, they assured that necessary steps would be taken.
Eastern Michigan Eagles coach Chris Creighton said,
I didn’t see things when they happened. But I definitely saw the intensity of what had just happened. We had a really good, long talk in the locker room afterwards. We want to be first-class all the time, no matter the circumstances, no matter what the scoreboard is.
South Alabama Jaguars coach Kane Wommack told AL.com,
You do everything you can on a football field to be the best for your teammates. And at times, things get emotional, and they get passionate. We will certainly take ownership of our part.
Fortunately, nothing was too serious in the end. There weren’t any reports of any players receiving any serious injuries.
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