Michigan State suspended four football players Sunday for their involvement in an altercation in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium on Saturday night after the team’s loss to Michigan.
Coach Mel Tucker announced linebacker Tank Brown, cornerback Khary Crump, safety Angelo Grose and defensive end Zion Young have been suspended effective immediately after reviewing what Tucker called disturbing electronic evidence of the incident.
The four will remain suspended until all investigations are completed. Tucker didn’t rule discipline for additional student-athletes going forward.
“We are currently working with law enforcement, Michigan State and Michigan campus leadership, and the Big Ten Conference to further evaluate the events in Ann Arbor,” Tucker said in a statement. “Including, but not limited to, additional student-athlete participation in the altercation and contributing factors.”
The four suspensions came after video surfaced from the Detroit News showing Brown, Grose and Young assaulting Wolverines defensive back Ja’Den McBurrows in the tunnel after Saturday’s game.
Michigan State vice president Alan Haller also released a statement, saying they felt it was necessary to take preliminary action and suspend the players based on the alarming evidence provided.
“On behalf of our university and athletics department, I have been in consistent contact with University of Michigan Athletics Director Warde Manuel and Big Ten Conference Commissioner Kevin Warren,” Haller said in the statement. “In addition to members of our Spartan family to offer our apologies and to ensure our collaboration with law enforcement as they conduct investigations into the matter.”
Another video surfaced Sunday, showing a Michigan State player swinging a helmet at Michigan defensive back Gemon Green in the tunnel. The Spartans player is not identifiable in the video.
Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh had said after the game that two players were assaulted and that one player has a potential nose injury but had not been diagnosed. Neither was identified publicly.
Manuel condemned the incident in the postgame news conference and said he already had been in contact with the Big Ten and Warren.
“The police are also looking into it, because they’ve seen the video and they’re addressing it. We will leave it in their hands, but this is not how we should interact after a game,” Manuel said. “This is not the way another team should grab a player and do what they did, it’s completely and utterly unacceptable. We will let the Big Ten and law enforcement handle it, but this is not what a rivalry should be about.”
Hours after the game, the University of Michigan Police released a statement saying it had started an investigation into the incident.
“The University of Michigan Police, in partnership with Michigan State University Police, Michigan Athletics and Michigan football, is actively reviewing footage and investigating the postgame incident,” the statement said. “Situations like these, and the safety of the community, are taken very seriously.”
As of Sunday night, the police did not have an update on the investigation and had not made any further comment.