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The fallout from Alabama football's loss to Tennesee featured an incident between Jermaine Burton and Tennessee fans. The No. 6 Crimson Tide wide receiver was caught on camera allegedly hitting Volunteers fans, one of which was a female fan whom he hit unprovoked as he left the field.
Although there was footage of Burton getting into altercations with multiple fans, the video in which he seems to have swung at a woman got lots of attention. Nick Saban and the Alabama football program investigated the situation.
According to Alex Scarborough of ESPN, Saban has decided not to suspend Burton. The Alabama football head coach said that his player, and a few others, were “scared” as the situation occurred.
“I didn't think it was necessary to suspend the guy,” Nick Saban said of his Alabama football WR, via ESPN. “If you knew the whole story, maybe you wouldn't either. But I'm not going to divulge that…Look, I don't know how many of you have ever been in a situation like that. But I talked to [Burton]. He was scared. I was scared. Some of our other players were scared.”
Saban didn't divulge the reasons for his decision not to suspend Burton ahead of Alabama football's matchup with No. 24 Mississippi State. He added that “you learn to respect other people because we have a responsibility to do that regardless of the circumstance that we're in.” Although punishment for hitting a fan wouldn't have necessarily signaled a lack of respect, Saban is siding with his Alabama football player in totality in this situation.
Burton played in a 30-6 win over Mississippi State, tallying two catches for 40 yards. Over the course of the season, he is second in receiving yards on the Alabama football team, tied for third in touchdown catches and fifth in receptions.
