The Auburn Tigers went from hoops to hijinks, practicing their pugilism skills while mid-flight, fighting it out on a plane.
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The No. 11 basketball program was reportedly involved in an altercation mid-air while traveling on the team plane to Houston, the home of the No. 4 ranked team in the nation.
According to a report by WBRC in Alabama, the team engaged in a fight during the flight, prompting the plane to divert just minutes after takeoff in the afternoon.
When asked about the “level of threat” that necessitated the emergency landing, the pilot deadpanned, “We have a group of basketball players fighting.”
A few minutes later, air traffic control once again inquired about the threat level from the pilot.
“The flight deck is secure,” the pilot reportedly said. “The threat level is contained for the moment, we just had – we’ll have police on the ground, and we had two players that got into a physical altercation, clothes were ripped.”
“It’s kind of crazy” the pilot added.
WBRC reported that legal restrictions prevent the sharing of the audio.
According to FlightAware, the plane returned to Auburn approximately 40 minutes after takeoff. Basketball analyst John Goodman noted that there was “horseplay between players” during the flight.
Meanwhile, a report from ESPN states that the situation on the flight was resolved successfully before any “serious” incidents took place.
The Internet Roasts The Auburn Tigers After Alleged Plane Fight
Before their flight, Auburn shared a post with the caption “liftoff” alongside a rocket emoji. Of course, this sparked a wave of jokes on social media.
liftoff 🚀 pic.twitter.com/EHLjJAjpNd
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) November 8, 2024
“You sure about that??” one fan quipped in the replies to the post. “Y’all brought new meaning to the mile high club,” another fan joked. “All hands on deck.. literally,” a third jokester chimed in.
Yet another fan put in a request: “Now do the emergency landing tweet!”
That said, Auburn kicked off the season with a victory. They boast a 1-0 record after triumphing over Vermont in their opening game on Wednesday.