In a recent episode of his House of Action podcast with fellow former NFL star and Hornet coach Clinton Portis, Delaware State head coach DeSean Jackson weighed in on the brawl between Grambling and Bethune-Cookman on Saturday. For Jackson, he says that the incident reminded him of his childhood.
Delaware State head football coach DeSean Jackson was candid when asked about the recent on-field brawl between Grambling State and Bethune-Cookman. pic.twitter.com/nwyoofa4fz
— HBCU Sports (@HBCUSports) November 12, 2025
“That's some sh*t I see in the streets growing up. Like you got different gangs that look like a gang rivalry to me,” Jackson said. “It look like they did not like anybody on that field like that look like enemies. And, I just feel like, man, , we put too much work in working hard day in and day out man to, to just discredit and throw it all away for that man. The head coaches, all the coaches that was involved. It just didn't look good man. And it just show how ghetto sometimes we can be, man, and it don't look good.”
Jackson argued that the fight hurt the perception of HBCUs, especially in relation to Power Four opportunities.
“Like you say, we talk about Power four, that hurts our opportunities, man. When they look down at the HBCU level and some of the things that are going on that stunts our progress and our steps to take it to the next level. You know, hopefully everyone's learned from that. You know, no one's perfect, but at the end of the day, whatever it took or whatever transpired for that to go down, hopefully they just never allow that to happen again in football.”
On Monday, the Southwestern Athletic Conference issued punishment for the brawl, suspending 27 players involved. In total, 27 student-athletes (9 from Bethune-Cookman and 18 from Grambling State) have been suspended with three students getting a two game suspension for based on the level of their involvement in the altercation. Also, Bethune-Cookman and Grambling were both issued a fine. Grambling was hit with a $40,000.00 fine and Bethune-Cookman a $25,000 fine.
“We’re extremely disappointed by the events that transpired during halftime of the Bethune-Cookman at Grambling State football game,” SWAC Commissioner Dr. Charles McClelland said in a statement. “Acts of that nature have zero place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference and intercollegiate athletics.”
His statement continued, “The Conference Office has and will continue to enforce a zero-tolerance policy for all acts deemed to be unsportsmanlike and contrary to the high standard of good sportsmanship we expect from all individuals associated with the athletics programs within our league.”



















