A huge brawl has taken center stage in the college basketball world. After Texas A&M-Commerce defeated Incarnate Word on February 19 the two schools met center court for a traditional post-game handshake. But what happened next was anything but traditional. The two schools began exchanging blows. TMZ says it is still unclear what was the tipping point in the incident.
“The scrap went down after Texas A&M-Commerce defeated Incarnate Word 76-72 at the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center in San Antonio… when at some point in saying “good game,” two opponents got ticked off and bumped into each other,” TMZ wrote.
“It’s unclear what exactly led to the altercation, but it quickly escalated … with players from both teams throwing hands.”
The Full Incarnate Word vs Texas A&M-Commerce postgame FIGHT. Probably the worst we’ve seen this year pic.twitter.com/9P6rkHu6z9
— NCAA Buzzer Beaters & Game Winners (@NCAABuzzerBters) February 20, 2024
Basketball Brawl Results in Injury to ‘Young Girl’
The worst part about the scrap between the two schools is that other bystanders were involuntarily involved in the incident. During the brawl, multiple staffers from the respective teams tried to break it up and were unsuccessful in doing so. And when the melee did not stop, it resulted in a young girl being injured.
“Despite the attempts of coaches, staffers, and peaceful athletes to break it all up, the fight continued for at least a minute before the teams were separated,” TMZ added.
“According to the ESPN broadcast, a “young girl” in the crowd was injured at some point … and another team manager was bleeding from the face.”
Teams Release Joint Statement Following Incident
Sports is all about physicality and the spirit of competition. But violence is a separate entity from those things. Following the brawl between The University of the Incarnate Word and Texas A&M University-Commerce, the schools released a joint statement. In the statement, they apologized for the incident and shunned the participants.
“The University of the Incarnate Word and Texas A&M University-Commerce apologize for the behavior exhibited by our respective men’s basketball programs following the game on Monday night,” the statement reads.
“There is no place in college sports for such actions. The unsportsmanlike conduct that occurred after the game does not reflect the values of the universities involved, as well as the Southland Conference and their member institutions.”