Morehouse College is facing fines from the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) after a school security guard handcuffed Tuskegee basketball coach Benjy Taylor following a men’s basketball game.
Taylor said he was just asking security to remove Morehouse football players from the handshake line following Morehouse’s 77-69 win against Tuskegee on Saturday, Jan. 31, HBCU Gameday reports.
Following a brief exchange, video shows Taylor being put in handcuffs and led off the court at Forbes Arena in Atlanta.
“I am at a loss for words and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today,” Taylor, who hired a civil rights attorney after the incident, said in a
statement. “For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking for me. I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were following right behind me and the team yelling obscenities! It was a very dangerous situation.”Taylor was reportedly released after the game and traveled with the team. Tuskegee athletic director Reginald Ruffin said football players joining the line is against conference policy.
“We have security measures for our protection of our officials, our student athlete coaches, and spectators,” explained Ruffin, who disagreed with the officer’s account that Taylor was acting aggressively.
A Morehouse spokesperson said the school is aware of the incident and has launched an internal investigation.
The SIAC, following its own investigation, said it will fine Morehouse an “undisclosed amount” and will mandate “corrective measures to ensure full compliance with conference security policies going forward.”
According to SIAC, Morehouse failed to “satisfy the required security standards for a host institution, specifically as it relates to crowd control and ensuring the safe entry and exit of visiting teams and game participants.”
“The SIAC holds its member institutions to the highest standards of sportsmanship, professionalism, and institutional accountability,” SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman added. “Our historic institutions are expected to provide competitive environments that prioritize the safety, dignity, and mutual respect of student-athletes, coaches, officials, and fans. The conference remains committed to upholding these expectations and to ensuring that all SIAC contests are conducted in a manner consistent with our shared values.”
Tuskegee University released a letter signed by Ruffin and university President Mark A. Brown extending support to Taylor and expressing concern over Morehouse’s security measures.
“At no time did Coach Taylor engage in behavior that could be characterized as unbecoming, unprofessional, or inconsistent with the standards of Tuskegee University, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), Morehouse College, or intercollegiate athletics broadly,” the statement said. “Conversely, the circumstances that culminated in Coach Taylor being handcuffed—albeit briefly—fall well outside the bounds of what is normal, acceptable, or appropriate in collegiate athletic environments. No coach should ever be placed in such a position for carrying out their duty to safeguard student-athletes.
“Tuskegee University is deeply concerned about the breakdown in established security procedures that contributed to this incident.”
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