College Football: Big Ten Fines Mich. State $100K for Tunnel Fight

Facts

• On Monday, college football's Big Ten Conference announced that it had levied a $100K fine against Michigan State and suspended redshirted sophomore Khary Crump for an additional eight games, on top of the four he has already served, following a post-game scuffle at Michigan on Oct. 29.
• This is the largest fine the conference has ever levied, surpassing the $40K fine issued to Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard for hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach in February.
• The conference has also issued a reprimand to the University of Michigan for failing to meet the standards of the game management manual. The policy "requires the conference member institution game host to provide adequate protection for personnel of both home and visiting teams when entering and leaving playing arenas."
• Crump, who has also been accused of felonious assault, isn't the only Spartans player to face criminal charges. Jacoby Windmon was charged with assault and battery, and five other student-athletes were each charged with aggravated assault.
• This comes after the investigation found that seven Michigan State Spartans players took part in the scuffle by "hitting, kicking, or using their helmet to strike University of Michigan Wolverines student-athletes" in the tunnel following a 29-7 defeat in Ann Arbor.
• Michigan and Michigan State's football programs have a record of rivalry and incidents. In 2018, the Big Ten determined that the Spartans had violated the sportsmanship policy during pregame warmups.

Sources: Detroit, USA Today, FOX News, CBS, CNN, and New York Post.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Detroit. Michigan State University student-athletes should be facing consequences. However, imposing a $100K fine against the school while only reprimanding the University of Michigan is unfair and unjustified. If one side should have been fined, it should have been the University of Michigan, as they have had a litany of other problems.
• Narrative B, as provided by Michigan Live. This fight has revealed unacceptable flaws in the University of Michigan's tunnel protocols — including a fan being able to make physical contact with Spartans' coach Mel Tucker. The offender was quickly identified and ejected from the Michigan Stadium, and the University of Michigan has taken decisive steps to reduce the possibility of further accidents by focusing on security and procedural reviews.