TALLAHASSEE, Fl. (WTXL) — The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) has announced the suspension of three student-athletes following an altercation involving the North Carolina A&T State and Florida A&M football teams on Sunday.
Following a thorough review of video footage and the referee’s report, two student-athletes from Florida A&M (Cameron Sapp, Jalen Brayboy) and one student-athlete from North Carolina A&T State (Stephen Davis) violated conference policy concerning the role of student-athletes and sportsmanship, which reads, in part, “Student-athletes are expected to treat opponents with respect. They must be aware significant penalties will be applied for fighting, taunting an opponent, or other unethical conduct.”
The Florida A&M student-athletes have been suspended for the Rattlers’ next game, which is Saturday at Morgan State.
“We expect our student-athletes and coaches to demonstrate good sportsmanship before, during and after games,” MEAC Commissioner Dr. Dennis E. Thomas said.
The Florida A&M-North Carolina A&T game that was originally scheduled for Saturday, was moved to Sunday afternoon due to Tropical Storm Nestor. While everyone knew how big the MEAC matchup was, no one knew what would ensue at halftime of the game.
As both teams were departing the field, players on both sides starting talking to each other. Eventually, a fight broke out between numerous players and coaches. FAMU Head Coach Willie Simmons said after the game, "With the configuration of the locker rooms and the sidelines, the teams have to cross. So, we wanted to make sure A&T crossed and got in, before we sent our guys, and apparently they didn't get all the way in before we went out."
The referees for the game came back for second half and issued unsportsmanlike penalties on the entire FAMU team and the entire A&T team. The players who had received such penalties in the first half were ejected from the game. The FAMU players tossed were Andrew Davis, Jalen Brayboy, and Tim Williams, along with FAMU's defensive coordinator, Ralph Street. A&T lost Elijah Bell, Stephen Davis, Jr., and Mac McCain.
"You hate to see that kind of stuff. That's not what this game is about. It's about going on the field between the whistles," said Coach Simmons.
Both teams now wait for the MEAC office to issue any further penalties or suspensions due to the fight. WTXL will keep you updated.
