Nick Saban alluded to hidden reasons as to why Alabama wide receiver Jermaine Burton would not be receiving a suspension after the incident in Knoxville last weekend.
Just a few days after Tennessee’s win over Alabama in Neyland Stadium, a video surfaced of Burton allegedly making contact with a female Tennessee fan that was rushing the field. After Saban said the matter was being looked at internally in the middle of the week, Burton did wind up being a starter for the Crimson Tide during Saturday’s home game against Mississippi State.
After the game on Saturday, Saban explained why there was no suspension handed down for Burton.
“I didn’t think it was necessary to suspend the guy,” Saban said via ESPN. “If you knew the whole story, maybe you wouldn’t either. But I’m not going to divulge that.”
Saban also said that while the environment did play a role in the incident that occurred, Burton would be placed into a counseling program while he remains with the team.
“Look, I don’t know how many of you have ever been in a situation like that, but I talked to him,” Nick Saban said about Burton. “He was scared. I was scared. Some of our other players were scared. I think you learn to respect other people because we have a responsibility to do that, regardless of the circumstance that we’re in. I talked to the guy. We have him in a counseling program. It’s not an anger management program, as people announced today. Nobody ever said that – that’s not the problem, that’s not the issue. But it’s about having the proper respect for other people.”
Burton ended the game with two receptions for 40 yards in Alabama’s win over Mississippi State on Saturday.
The original video of the incident involving Burton and the Tennessee fan was posted to Tik Tok by Emily Isaacs. The video was then screen recorded and posted to Twitter garnering more than a million views. It also led to other videos surfacing of Burton’s actions after the game.
No. 6 Alabama defeated No. 24 Mississippi State by a score of 30-6 on Saturday night.
Jermaine Burton smacking a girl in the head after the game pic.twitter.com/6DeqPYJ5WK
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