There are not many storylines that have fans of all walks of life on the same side. On Saturday, cameras found one of those such situations in College Station.
As two Gamecocks players exited the tunnel following a Nyck Harbor hamstring issue, the State Trooper positioned himself right in front of those players. The slow-motion replay shows both South Carolina players attempting to make room for the Trooper.
He then bumped into both players. Upon contact the Trooper turned around and appeared to scold the players with finger pointing. The Texas Department of Public Safety released a statement shortly after the altercation, via their official Twitter account.
“The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is aware of the incident that occurred today during the Texas A&M football game. The DPS Trooper involved was sent home from the game. Our Office of Inspector General (OIG) is also aware of the incident and will be further looking into the matter. No additional information will be released at this time.”
“I think we’re just a little frustrated in that first half. He breaks off that run, runs out the tunnel,” Manziel said on the Nightcap podcast with Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson. “Around here in these parts, partner, we protect this house. We paid a lot of money for this house.
Get out of my tunnel, boy! Get back on the field. He gave him a lil something, let him know what’s up… It is a small gesture that of course in the day and age we live in, it’s on TV and recorded and blasted everywhere. I’m sure the guy obviously feels bad about it.”
Manziel did agree with Sharpe and Chad Johnson that the Trooper initiated the altercation and was wrong to do so. He even attempted to align with the Texas A&M program with their decision to dismiss the Trooper from his gameday responsibilities.
“He sought it out for sure,” Manziel said of the Texas state trooper. “And to be honest, I’ve had my tiffs with the state troopers and the city police of Bryan and College Station.
I will say for the majority of the people in law enforcement in and around this area, this is a very well-policed, very protect the school and protect the people area. … But that today, what we saw, was wrong for sure. And I think A&M did handle it the right way.”
South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer said he wasn’t aware of the incident with Harbor and the Trooper but added “it was good to know” when told the officer got sent home.
“Got a ton of respect for the people here in College Station,” Beamer told reporters. “They’re just a first-class operation, everybody. From a game operation standpoint, they really do a great job. They’re first-class people, so appreciate them handling that the right way, sending (the trooper) home.”
Jason Jones is a freelance writer with The Sporting News. He has covered all major sports for the past two decades. Jason began his career in sports radio broadcasting, working for WKNR in Cleveland and KKML in Denver as a show host, producer and director of production. He previously worked as an NFL Draft analyst and reporter for Yahoo Sports Radio.