Post by JayBee on Sept 25, 2007 6:41:17 GMT -5
No helmets were swung, A&T official says
By Rob Daniels
Staff Writer
Tuesday, Sep. 25, 2007 3:00 am
NORFOLK STATE AT N.C. A&T
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Aggie Stadium, Greensboro
Records: Norfolk State 2-1 overall, 1-0 MEAC; N.C. A&T 0-4, 0-1
Tickets: $20 online at www.ncataggies.com or call 334-7749
TV: ESPNU
Online: www.nsu.edu/athletics/ and www.ncataggies.com
GREENSBORO -- Saturday's postgame altercation between the N.C. Central and N.C. A&T football teams lasted about two minutes rather than five, did not feature helmets as weapons and will not inherently prevent the teams from playing again, Aggies athletics director Dee Todd said Monday.
Aside from those revelations, there weren't many answers from school officials about the incident, which was described as: a "helmet-swinging brawl" by USA Today; a five-minute fiasco in which "fists and helmets were flying" by the News & Observer of Raleigh; and an altercation that police dispersed "after several minutes" in a story distributed by The Associated Press.
The schools' chancellors issued a joint statement Monday night that affirmed their intention to work together to address what happened immediately after the game at Aggie Stadium, but offered no specifics about the immediate past or the long-term future of competition between the schools.
"Presently, we have not made a decision regarding the future athletic events between our teams, but we are jointly collaborating as sister institutions to decide the best course," said the release, signed by both chancellors, Dr. Stanley F. Battle of A&T and Dr. Charlie Nelms of Central. "The primary factor in making our final decision will be our responsibility to our students."
Central defeated A&T 27-22 and, according to Todd, instigated the altercation when two Eagles assistant coaches exhorted their players to jump derisively on the A&T bulldog logo at midfield. Central coach Mose Rison said in a release Sunday that his staff acted appropriately in quelling the disturbance. He did not address accusations that his coaches helped provoke the incident.
Monday's News & Observer cited Todd as the source of a remark that A&T had canceled its agreement to play Central in Durham in 2008.
"I did not say that," Todd said Monday evening.
On Sept. 17, A&T received a standard, one-page contract from Central that said the teams had agreed to play at a location to be determined in Durham on Aug. 30, 2008. The document, which does not contain termination clauses or financial terms, had been signed by Rison and Central's athletics director, Bill Hayes, but not by A&T representatives.
"We owe them a game, and at some point, we will honor our agreement that we will return the game," Todd said. "When that's going to be, I can't say."
In the absence of definitive public statements and police reports, there have been conflicting versions of what occurred Saturday night.
Asked to estimate the length of the altercation, Todd said, "It was two minutes, if that. It was more a matter of pushing and shoving."
Todd and four other eyewitnesses reached for comment Monday said there is no credible reason to think players on either team threw or swung their helmets. Sixteen still photographs taken by the News & Record's Jerry Wolford (five are posted online at http://www.news-record.com) during the fight show dozens of players, none of whom is holding or tossing headgear in a threatening manner. Nearly a year ago, teams from the University of Miami and Florida International engaged in a prolonged fracas that did include such conduct.
The photos show a uniformed N.C. Central campus police officer repeatedly spraying a substance in the direction of Aggies players. At one point, A&T assistant coach George Ragsdale confronted the officer and apparently sought an explanation.
Another image shows an officer in a uniform matching those worn by the A&T force. He is grabbing an Aggies player by the jersey and brandishing a canister of Mace or pepper spray. It is unclear whether A&T officers actually used any chemical irritants, and university officials have declined to comment on whether they did or if any such use would have been warranted under the circumstances.
Greensboro Police Department officers, who were at the game as a matter of standard practice, did not use Mace or pepper spray, a spokesman said. It is clear, however, that the irritants induced vomiting from several participants and nearby witnesses.
Attempts to reach Battle and Richard Holden, A&T's chief of police and public safety, were unsuccessful Monday. Holden, who came out of retirement in February after a 35-year career with the N.C. Highway Patrol, is conducting an investigation, school officials said, but has been instructed to funnel all comment through A&T's university relations office.
Meanwhile, the Aggies, who have lost 20 consecutive games, can't afford to ponder the recent past. Their next game is a home matchup Thursday against fellow MEAC member Norfolk State, and it will be nationally televised by ESPNU.
ESPN has asked at least one Triad television station if it can provide footage of the fight.
Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels @news-record.com
By Rob Daniels
Staff Writer
Tuesday, Sep. 25, 2007 3:00 am
NORFOLK STATE AT N.C. A&T
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday
Where: Aggie Stadium, Greensboro
Records: Norfolk State 2-1 overall, 1-0 MEAC; N.C. A&T 0-4, 0-1
Tickets: $20 online at www.ncataggies.com or call 334-7749
TV: ESPNU
Online: www.nsu.edu/athletics/ and www.ncataggies.com
GREENSBORO -- Saturday's postgame altercation between the N.C. Central and N.C. A&T football teams lasted about two minutes rather than five, did not feature helmets as weapons and will not inherently prevent the teams from playing again, Aggies athletics director Dee Todd said Monday.
Aside from those revelations, there weren't many answers from school officials about the incident, which was described as: a "helmet-swinging brawl" by USA Today; a five-minute fiasco in which "fists and helmets were flying" by the News & Observer of Raleigh; and an altercation that police dispersed "after several minutes" in a story distributed by The Associated Press.
The schools' chancellors issued a joint statement Monday night that affirmed their intention to work together to address what happened immediately after the game at Aggie Stadium, but offered no specifics about the immediate past or the long-term future of competition between the schools.
"Presently, we have not made a decision regarding the future athletic events between our teams, but we are jointly collaborating as sister institutions to decide the best course," said the release, signed by both chancellors, Dr. Stanley F. Battle of A&T and Dr. Charlie Nelms of Central. "The primary factor in making our final decision will be our responsibility to our students."
Central defeated A&T 27-22 and, according to Todd, instigated the altercation when two Eagles assistant coaches exhorted their players to jump derisively on the A&T bulldog logo at midfield. Central coach Mose Rison said in a release Sunday that his staff acted appropriately in quelling the disturbance. He did not address accusations that his coaches helped provoke the incident.
Monday's News & Observer cited Todd as the source of a remark that A&T had canceled its agreement to play Central in Durham in 2008.
"I did not say that," Todd said Monday evening.
On Sept. 17, A&T received a standard, one-page contract from Central that said the teams had agreed to play at a location to be determined in Durham on Aug. 30, 2008. The document, which does not contain termination clauses or financial terms, had been signed by Rison and Central's athletics director, Bill Hayes, but not by A&T representatives.
"We owe them a game, and at some point, we will honor our agreement that we will return the game," Todd said. "When that's going to be, I can't say."
In the absence of definitive public statements and police reports, there have been conflicting versions of what occurred Saturday night.
Asked to estimate the length of the altercation, Todd said, "It was two minutes, if that. It was more a matter of pushing and shoving."
Todd and four other eyewitnesses reached for comment Monday said there is no credible reason to think players on either team threw or swung their helmets. Sixteen still photographs taken by the News & Record's Jerry Wolford (five are posted online at http://www.news-record.com) during the fight show dozens of players, none of whom is holding or tossing headgear in a threatening manner. Nearly a year ago, teams from the University of Miami and Florida International engaged in a prolonged fracas that did include such conduct.
The photos show a uniformed N.C. Central campus police officer repeatedly spraying a substance in the direction of Aggies players. At one point, A&T assistant coach George Ragsdale confronted the officer and apparently sought an explanation.
Another image shows an officer in a uniform matching those worn by the A&T force. He is grabbing an Aggies player by the jersey and brandishing a canister of Mace or pepper spray. It is unclear whether A&T officers actually used any chemical irritants, and university officials have declined to comment on whether they did or if any such use would have been warranted under the circumstances.
Greensboro Police Department officers, who were at the game as a matter of standard practice, did not use Mace or pepper spray, a spokesman said. It is clear, however, that the irritants induced vomiting from several participants and nearby witnesses.
Attempts to reach Battle and Richard Holden, A&T's chief of police and public safety, were unsuccessful Monday. Holden, who came out of retirement in February after a 35-year career with the N.C. Highway Patrol, is conducting an investigation, school officials said, but has been instructed to funnel all comment through A&T's university relations office.
Meanwhile, the Aggies, who have lost 20 consecutive games, can't afford to ponder the recent past. Their next game is a home matchup Thursday against fellow MEAC member Norfolk State, and it will be nationally televised by ESPNU.
ESPN has asked at least one Triad television station if it can provide footage of the fight.
Contact Rob Daniels at 373-7028 or rdaniels @news-record.com
