Update March 20, 11:00 a.m. EST Clips of Tuskegee University head basketball coach Benjy Taylor being handcuffed and escorted out of a game against rival Morehouse College sparked national attention and outcry in early February. Now, the veteran coach is making a move that could change everything.
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Taylor is preparing to file a lawsuit against Morehouse and two campus police officers, identified as R. Clark and M. Roberson, following the now-viral incident, according to USA Today. Taylor, who is scheduled to formally announce the filing on Friday (March 20) in Atlanta, has not been charged with any crime and is being represented by high-profile civil rights attorneys Harry Daniels and John Burris, alongside attorneys Gerald Griggs and Gregory Reynald Williams, CBS News reported.
“It would be bad for a police officer to treat anyone like this,” Daniels said in a statement, referring to when Taylor said he was escorted out of a game while trying to protect his players. “But to do it to a man like Coach Taylor […] to put him in handcuffs and treat him like a criminal […] is absolutely disgusting.”
Original story Feb. 2, 1:02 p.m. EST
It was supposed to be a college basketball game’s final buzzer, a moment designed for sportsmanship and the team’s routine post-game handshakes. But as the band played, the conclusion of Morehouse College’s basketball game against Division II rival Tuskegee University quickly turned from celebration to chaos.
The Morehouse Maroon Tigers took on the Tuskegee Golden Tigers Saturday (Jan. 31) for a clash of the cats in a basketball game in Atlanta. The former bested the Tigers, 77-69. However, the contest made headlines for what happened directly after the game.
A video posted on X captured Tuskegee’s coach Benjy Taylor being handcuffed by a police officer, CBS Sports reported. Not only that, the officer was also seen escorting him away outside of the gym. After the clip made its rounds online, Tuskegee Athletic Director Reginald Ruffin clarified that Taylor was handcuffed after he attempted to get security to address an on-court “security breach.”
Taylor, who has been Tuskegee’s basketball coach since 2019, alleged Morehouse football players joined the Morehouse basketball players handshake line — which he says goes against conference protocols.
“We have security measures for our protection of our officials, our student athlete coaches and spectators,” Ruffin said, claiming, “You got… [intermingling] football players shaking hands with the team. You don’t do that…that’s a security breach.”
Taylor said he was “at a loss for words” and was “upset about how I was violated and treated today. For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking for me,” according to ESPN. “I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were following right behind me and the team yelling obscenities! It was a very dangerous situation.”
Ruffin also disagreed with the security officer’s reported claim that Taylor was “very aggressive” when he asked him to remove players who weren’t supposed to be there.
Tuskegee University President and CEO Mark A. Brown also addressed the incident, claiming Taylor “acted solely out of his fundamental responsibility to protect his student-athletes and staff— particularly in an environment where agreed-upon and customary game‑management and security protocols were not properly carried out.”
Brown called Taylor’s conduct “measured, professional, and entirely consistent with the expectations of a head coach entrusted with the safety of his team.”
The coach of 35 years was not charged with a crime and was able to travel back home with his team; he has since retained civil rights attorneys. In a statement the following day, Taylor’s attorneys said they are investigating all legal avenues on their client’s behalf, including a possible civil lawsuit.
“It would be bad for a police officer to treat anyone like this,” his attorney Harry Daniels said, who alleged Morehouse football players were “acting aggressively” toward Tuskegee players and their families. “But to do it to a man like Coach Taylor, a highly respected professional and role model, to put him in handcuffs, humiliate him and treat him like a criminal in front of his team, his family and a gym full of fans is absolutely disgusting and they need to be held accountable.”
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