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Massive brawl breaks out after bowl game when sore loser sucker punches opponent

December 26, 2023 | | Print Article

So much for the Christmas spirit.

A massive brawl broke out after the 68 Ventures Bowl, which was played Saturday at Hancock Whitney Stadium in Mobile, Alabama.

South Alabama crushed Eastern Michigan 59-10 in the game and the winning team was singing its alma mater along with the school band after the game when a sore loser from Eastern Michigan ran over and sucker-punched a South Alabama player in the back of the head — the player struck was wearing a helmet at the time.

The targeted player’s teammates responded by converging on the Eastern Michigan player while some of his teammates ran across the field to either join in or break up the brouhaha, and things got heated real quick:

Here’s additional footage of the brawl, taken from a different angle:

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It’s not clear what prompted the attack or if the specific player was targeted because of something that took place during the game.

Either way, emotions were high:

Eastern Michigan athletic director Scott Wetherbee apologized for the postgame incident and condemned the actions of the players.

“We strongly condemn the actions of some of the student-athletes on the EMU football team in the ugly incident that took place following last night’s 68 Ventures Bowl,” Wetherbee said in a statement. “We are deeply upset and embarrassed by what happened. Their conduct does not reflect the great pride and high standards we place on the game and our program, and the expectations for good sportsmanship and exemplary conduct of student-athletes on and off the field. What happened was completely unacceptable.”

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“We apologize to the Eastern Michigan University community and to the South Alabama team and their fans,” he continued. “I have been in contact with South Alabama Director of Athletics Joel Erdmann to express our sincere apologies and Coach Creighton has done the same with Coach Wommack. We are committed to sharing information and video to fully understand all that occurred.”

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story from X:

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Tom Tillison
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