College football player banished to locker room by his own coach for taunting
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Joe Harasymiak is in his first year at UMass. Things haven’t gone well, to say the least. The Minutemen, playing their first season in the MAC, have a 0-8 record. They’ve given up just over 35.8 points per game while averaging just 11.5.
That, plus the frustration of how the season’s gone, may have led Harasymiak to send one of his players to the locker room after getting flagged for taunting.
The Minutemen faced Akron on Tuesday and, through 3 quarters, it was trending the way many of UMass’s games have gone so far. Despite cutting a 14-0 first-quarter deficit to 14-10, the Minutemen gave up the next 20 points to go down 34-10.
With just under 5 minutes to play in the 3rd quarter, UMass defensive back Brennan Bailey knocked a pass from the hands of an Akron defender near the sideline. He then motioned toward the Akron sideline while staring players down before being whistled from a taunting penalty.
CBS Sports Network cameras later showed Bailey walking back to the locker room as Harasymiak reportedly ordered him to do so, though the interaction between player and coach wasn’t pictured. Here’s the video:
UMass would move to 0-9 on the season with a loss to Akron.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
