Twenty college football players and two head coaches were suspended when a chaotic brawl broke out between opposing teams after a homecoming game in Georgia.
Fort Valley State University (FVSU) had just lost to Central State University (CSU) in a close 18-14 loss in front of its fans at Wildcat Stadium on Saturday when tensions boiled over after the final whistle.
Players from both teams ignited the massive brawl when they were captured tackling each other to the turf on the sideline, according to a viral video shared on X.
Fans can be heard screaming as a sea of blue and white jerseys turns into a dogpile as multiple players punched each other and engaged in shoving matches with their opponents.
The Fort Valley announcer demanded that coaches and players separate and head to their locker rooms, and for fans to remain in the stands during the heated moment.
As the violence quieted down, an FVSU and CSU player clashed again and sparked the dispersing crowd of players to surge back and begin migrating onto the track and towards the stands.
The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), to which both schools belong, handed a one-game suspension for 20 players, nine from FVSU and 11 from CSU, on Monday.
“Acts of unsportsmanlike conduct have no place in intercollegiate athletics or within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference,” SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman said in a press release. “I am extremely disappointed that this event has overshadowed what was otherwise a very competitive football game.”
The conference also issued one-game suspensions to both FVSU head coach Marlon Watson and CSU head coach Tony Carter.
Both programs were also fined an undisclosed amount.
The conference stated that it will continue to develop policies to prevent similar brawls in the future and reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing a “zero-tolerance policy” for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The SIAC is an NCAA athletic conference comprising primarily Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with its headquarters located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, according to the organization’s website.
FVSU apologized to its community and to CSU for the postgame violence, stating the actions do not “reflect the values of sportsmanship, integrity, and respect that we uphold as an institution, athletic program, and conference.”
“We do not condone behavior that falls short of these standards, and we are taking the necessary steps to ensure that our student-athletes understand the importance of representing the University with Wildcat pride and professionalism on and off the field,” the university said in a Facebook post.
The postgame chaos came just days after several members of the FVSU marching band were arrested on hazing charges so severe that the band was barred from performing at homecoming, 13 WMAZ reported.
The university stated that a criminal investigation uncovered sufficient evidence to file charges, leading to the arrests of several band members, the outlet reported.
The marching band was suspended shortly after the hazing allegations emerged.
An incident report obtained by 13 WMAZ from the Fort Valley State University Police Department identified a 20-year-old female victim and two female suspects, Arika Tolbert, 21, and Jaya Williams, 19.
The report noted that five other people, all females, were involved in the case overall, but did not detail their specific roles.
The Fort Valley Police Department is now handling the investigation.
Following the allegations, FVSU released a statement acknowledging “the seriousness of this situation and the impact it has on our community,” adding that its “top priority is the safety and well-being of all our students and the entire Wildcat community.”
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