Police are investigating the post-game incident that took place in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium following the Wolverines 29-7 win over Michigan State on Saturday night.
Video showed several Michigan State players surrounding Michigan defensive back Ja’Den McBurrows and kicking and punching him in a very disturbing incident.
Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel said police are investigating the incident.
“What happened after the game is completely unacceptable. I’ve talked to the commissioner, he’s looking into it,” Manuel said. “The police are also looking into it, because they’ve seen the video and they’re addressing it. We will leave it in their hands, but this is not how we should interact after a game. “This is not the way another team should grab a player and do what they did, it’s completely and utterly unacceptable. We will let the Big Ten and law enforcement handle it, but this is not what a rivalry should be about.”
Michigan head coach John Harbaugh said two of his players were assaulted and that one of them might have a broken nose.
A joint statement was released after the game.
“The University of Michigan Police, in partnership with Michigan State University Police, Michigan Athletics and Michigan football, is actively reviewing footage and investigating the postgame incident,” the statement said. “Situations like these, and the safety of the community, are taken very seriously.”
Michigan State coach Mel Tucker also Tweeted on Sunday morning about the incident.
This is not the first time this season there has been an issue at Michigan Stadium involving that tunnel and the locker room situation.
There was a halftime fight between Michigan and Penn State players during their game earlier this season, prompting Penn State coach James Franklin to criticize the set up and question its safety for players.
Harbaugh downplayed it the situation and placed the blame on Franklin for the incident happening.
But as the events of Saturday night showed, there might actually be a problem with the set up as two major incidents within a month should not be considered normal.
