Tuskegee men’s basketball coach Taylor handcuffed after intervening in postgame incident - AP News

Hawaii coach Benjy Taylor gestures to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against UC Davis in the semifinals of the Big West Conference tournament, March 13, 2015, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share (function () { const counter = document.getElementById("scrollToComments"); const HEADER_OFFSET = 120; function findCommentsModule() { return document.querySelector('.vf3-comments, vf-conversations, '); } function maybeShowCounter() { if (findCommentsModule()) { counter.style.display = "inline-flex"; } else { counter.style.display = "none"; } } // Show only when Viafoura is present maybeShowCounter(); // Watch DOM for late loads const observer = new MutationObserver(maybeShowCounter); observer.observe(document.documentElement, { childList: true, subtree: true }); // Scroll action counter.addEventListener("click", function () { const el = findCommentsModule(); if (!el) return; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.scrollY - HEADER_OFFSET; window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: "smooth" }); }); })(); .thin-line-button { display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; border: 1px solid #ccc; height: 30px; padding: 0 10px; cursor: pointer; border-radius: 5px; background: none; text-align: center; font-size: 1.4rem; font-weight: 700; white-space: nowrap; flex-shrink: 0; color: inherit; transition: none; /* Remove animation effect */ } .thin-line-button { color: #000; background: white; } /* Remove hover effect */ .thin-line-button:hover { border: 1px solid #ccc; } .comment-icon { width: 20px; height: 20px; min-width: 20px; min-height: 20px; flex: 0 0 20px; object-fit: contain; display: inline-block; } .Page-actions-commentCounter .embed-caption { display: none; } .vf-comments-count.vf-is-logged-in { margin-left: 4px; } ATLANTA (AP) — Tuskegee men’s basketball coach Benjy Taylor was handcuffed after intervening in an incident involving his team and members of Morehouse’s basketball and football teams over the weekend. A statement from civil rights attorney Harry Daniels’ office said Taylor was concerned about Morehouse football players who “were acting aggressively” toward Tuskegee players and their parents during postgame handshakes on Saturday. The statement said the football players’ presence is prohibited by conference-mandated security protocols. It said after Taylor asked a second officer to enforce those protocols to diffuse the situation, the officer handcuffed him and escorted him from the court. Though Taylor was not charged, he has hired Daniels and attorneys Gregory Reynald Williams and Gerald Griggs to represent him. The attorneys say they are considering a civil lawsuit. Daniels said Taylor was right to try to protect his team, and the officer was out of line. “It would be bad for a police officer to treat anyone like this,” Daniels said. “But to do it to a man like Coach Taylor, a highly respected professional and role model, to put him in handcuffs, humiliate him and treat him like a criminal in front of his team, his family and a gym full of fans is absolutely disgusting and they need to be held accountable.” Mike Brey, James Jones, Lisa Bluder and Ernie Johnson to receive Joe Lapchick Character Award 2 MIN READ Arenas scores a career-high 29 points to lead USC past Indiana 81-75 1 MIN READ Isaiah Hartenstein has first triple-double as Thunder roll to 128-92 win over Magic 1 MIN READ A statement from Tuskegee president Mark Brown and athletic director Reginald Ruffin said the school leaders were proud of Taylor’s commitment to the athletes and the school’s values. “During the events in question, Coach Taylor acted solely out of his fundamental responsibility to protect his student-athletes and staff — particularly in an environment where agreed-upon and customary game‑management and security protocols were not properly carried out,” the statement said. “His conduct remained measured, professional, and entirely consistent with the expectations of a head coach entrusted with the safety of his team.” Morehouse did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On Monday, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference fined Morehouse an undisclosed amount, saying it failed to meet mandated conference safety standards. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball