The Armed Forces Bowl between the state of Mississippi and No. 24 Tulsa was pretty quiet, leading to the Bulldogs’ 28-26 victory. After the final whistle, however, things took an ugly turn when a fight broke out between the two teams.
Tensions were high during the afternoon. Both teams had their mouths open before the game started and there were some hectic moments during the game. It’s hard to say what instigated the situation after the game, but the punches started to fly and that’s when things got out of hand.
That’s how the fight went – for which ESPN returned in real time after initially returning to studio coverage. The fight continued for several minutes while the coaches and even some police officers on the field tried to separate her.
One of the ugliest moments filmed was when Mississippi state wide receiver Malik Heath kicked a Tulsa player who was lying on the floor.
Unfortunately, this did not appear to be a victimless situation. Golden Hurricane defender Kendarin Ray had to be helped off the field after apparently suffering an injury during the fight. Tulsa coach Phillip Montgomery noted after the game that he believes Ray suffered a concussion.
When asked about the ESPN fight in his post-game interview, Mississippi State coach Mike Leach said his message to the team would be “Don’t do this anymore. It’s just stupid”, but then added, “There was a bit of that stuff. coming and going during the game. ”
“This is a football game, so we are not going to tear up the cloth because of this thing; someone went to a football game and someone was hit,” said Leach.
Montgomery declined to comment on the post-game brawl.
None of the programs officially commented on the post-game fight, but since it was a terrible time for everyone involved, it is necessary to imagine statements and perhaps some disciplinary action will come as soon as the dust settles.