A massive brawl broke out at the NCAA Division II college football game between the Central State University Marauders and the Fort Valley State University Wildcats on Saturday, resulting in the suspension of 20 players.
After the Wildcats lost the game in an 18-14 final, two of the team’s players got in an altercation with a member of the Marauders, Fox News reported.
From there, more and more players from both teams waded into the melee for a few minutes until it all seemed to start dying down. But before the teams separated, another dustup started near the bleachers and riled everyone up all over again.
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As the players pushed, shoved, and threw punches, the PA announcer was heard warning, “Coaches, get your players off the field.”
After the brawl, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) announced that 11 players from Central State and nine from Fort Valley were suspended. The two teams also found that their head coaches had been suspended.
“Acts of unsportsmanlike conduct have no place in intercollegiate athletics or within the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference,” said SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman. “I am extremely disappointed that this event has overshadowed what was otherwise a very competitive football game.”
The teams were also both fined an undisclosed amount.
Fox Valley pushed out a statement pledging to rededicate its football program to “professionalism.”
“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 school said in a statement.
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