Southern and Prairie View have not yet heard from the SWAC office regarding a pregame brawl between players at Panther Stadium ahead of a 45-13 win by the Jaguars on Saturday.
Panthers head coach Bubba McDowell said after the game, and then on Monday during the SWAC coaches media call, that the scuffle began after Southern players reportedly stumped on Prairie View’s midfield logo.
McDowell, who said he saw the brawl unfolding from his office outside the stadium, rushed to the scene and intervened.
“We know that’s a no, no,” he said about Southern players committing the act that led to the altercation.
The first-year coach mentioned that he was disappointed that no Southern coaches attempted to break up the fight that involved a few dozen players.
“I saw them standing there but they were not trying to de-escalate the situation down there,” he said. “I know Coach Dooley is not about that. I would have liked to see as many coaches as possible to minimize players getting hurt or throwing blows.”
— – (@Spicoli_____) October 10, 2022
Dooley, who said in the postgame “that’s not who we are” and was “mad” at the involvement of his own players, did not want to revisit the situation on Monday.
“I thought was a good football game,” said Dooley to a reporter who asked about the incident. “I’m an HBCU guy and we understand what took place. You are talking about young individuals that we are building to be quality young men once they graduate.
“I don’t get into the negative things. I’m a very positive guy. I think there are too many football questions that can be talked about (regarding) a well-played football game on both sides of the ball.”
When asked to explain whether he anticipates hearing from the SWAC about the brawl, Dooley remained reluctant to discuss it.
“The only thing I expected to do is prepare for the next game. Things take place,” he said. “I just think right now, we a lot of times, you know, even as adults, we focus on things that that are not important right now. And we understand that things take place, but what about how was the third quarter? What happened to the fourth quarter? How did the guys respond? We move forward. I never look in the rearview mirror.”
Saw on Facebook where it was stated that a Prairie View Player spit on Jason Dumas, the guy who transferred from Prairie View. Hope this is not true because that is horrible!