Tennessee fans stormed the field in celebration of Alabama’s stunning loss to Tennessee last week, causing all sorts of chaos and even pulling down the stadium’s goalposts. As part of the chaos, Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton was caught on camera appearing to strike a female fan on the field. While Alabama head coach Nick Saban initially said that the situation would be handled “internally,” it’s clear Burton isn’t facing much punishment.
Despite the controversy, Burton was in the starting lineup for the Alabama Crimson Tide in its top-25 showdown with the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Saturday. And during his press conference, Nick Saban said that the player wasn’t facing punishment, but was instead undergoing counseling and that he hit the woman because “he was scared.”
“I don’t know how many of you have been in a situation like that. I talked to him. He was scared, I was scared, some of our other players were scared,” Saban said. “I think you learn to respect other people because we have a responsibility to do that, regardless of the circumstance we’re in. I talked to the guy, we have him in a counseling program, it’s not an anger management program, as some people announced today. Nobody ever said that, that’s not the problem, that’s not the issue.”
Saban said after learning “the whole story” he decided not to suspend Burton for his actions.
“It’s about having the proper respect for other people,” Saban added. “I didn’t think it was necessary to suspend the guy, so if you knew the whole story, maybe you wouldn’t either. But I am not gonna divulge that.”
It’s safe to say Burton won’t be missing any game time for his actions.
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