BOWLING GREEN, Ohio — A Memphis basketball participant has been charged by Bowling Green campus police with assault after punching a Falcons participant within the handshake line following a Women’s NIT sport, in line with the Bowling Green athletic division.
“Violence is rarely acceptable and our precedence stays the well being, security and help of our student-athlete, who’s recovering and doing properly,” the athletic division stated in an announcement Friday. “This is an lively investigation together with the City of Bowling Green Prosecutor, and no additional remark is obtainable right now.”
As the groups walked towards heart court docket Thursday night time following Bowling Green’s 73-60 win within the Round of 16 sport, Memphis’ Jamirah Shutes stopped to speak with the Falcons’ Elissa Brett. After a brief dialog, Shutes seems to throw a punch at Brett’s face. Brett fell towards the scorer’s desk and onto the sideline.
There was no rapid phrase about what precipitated the confrontation.
Bowling Green coach Robyn Fralich didn’t immediately touch upon the incident after the sport, saying solely that they had been “figuring all these issues out,” so far as what occurred within the handshake line.
Memphis’ athletics division stated Friday that the incident was “extraordinarily unlucky and positively not in step with, or consultant of, our expectations for our applications and student-athletes.”
“Because the incident occurred after the sport, jurisdiction falls within the fingers of native authorities, and we’re cooperating absolutely with their course of,” the assertion stated. “To be respectful of that course of, we won’t remark additional till it’s full.”
Later Friday, the varsity introduced that coach Katrina Merriweather was resigning to take a job at one other faculty. The assertion, posted on social media, stated that the coach had determined to maneuver on earlier than the incident within the sport Thursday night time.
The Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper reported that Shutes, who leads the Tigers in scoring, took an elbow to her face with 24 seconds left within the opening quarter and performed simply eight minutes within the first half. She returned to begin the second half.
Shutes, a fifth-year participant who completed with 13 factors in her remaining sport with the Tigers, was a second-team All-AAC choice this season.
Brett scored 15 factors within the win.