Tulsa head coach releases statement following brawl with Mississippi State
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Tulsa head coach Phillip Montgomery has released a statement on the brawl that took place with Mississippi State on Thursday.
Montgomery tweeted out this message:
“There is no place in football or our program for the actions that occurred after Thursday’s bowl game. It’s not who we are. It’s not part of our culture. It will not be tolerated. I’m sick about this ending to what was an otherwise incredible season for a talented team.”
It’s currently unclear what started the altercation between the Golden Hurricane and the Bulldogs, although Mississippi State’s Malik Heath has been receiving a lot of the ire in the fallout.
Bulldogs athletic director John Cohen released a statement on Friday about the event:
“While I’m proud of the representation of our football student-athletes in our previous 10 SEC games and applaud the effort of our team during the Armed Forces Bowl, I’m deeply concerned about the actions of some student-athletes. No matter what led to the situation, fighting is inexcusable and does not represent Mississippi State University’s core values. Our administration and Coach Leach are working diligently with the SEC office to review yesterday’s events and will address the situation in an appropriate matter.”
Many prominent voices in college football have sounded off on the brawl, including Kirk Herbstreit. He called it a “black eye” for college football and was specifically critical of Mississippi State coach Mike Leach.
Neither school has announced punishments for the players involved.
Mississippi State did win the game 28-26. The Bulldogs moved to 4-7 to finish Leach’s first season with the victory.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
