EAST LANSING – An investigation is underway following an altercation between a Michigan State fan and Michigan center Amadou Ba that occurred prior to Saturday’s game.
Terry Denbow, vice president of university relations for Michigan State, said investigations were still being conducted as of yesterday. Witnesses from both the Izzone student section and the Michigan men’s basketball team had been interviewed.
Denbow did not comment on whether or not charges would be filed.
As Michigan players were warming up, a student approached Ba, who was seated on the bench. Following contact between the fan and Ba’s leg, the student turned and grabbed Ba’s knee. After the two exchanged words, Ba stood up and shoved the student to the floor.
Officials took the student to a nearby hospital.
According to multiple student reports, the student in question was Bobby Brock, a Michigan State sophomore. Students referred to him as a leader of the Izzone.
Brock did not reply to interview requests from The Michigan Daily.
“I don’t exactly remember what happened,” said Ba, who remained in uniform for the duration of the game. “Every time you play in a rivalry game like this, there are going to be some students that try to do something.”
Michigan coach Tommy Amaker was not on the court when the incident occurred. During his post-game press conference, he remained tight-lipped.
“We’ll review the situation when we get the opportunity to do so,” Amaker said.
But the fuzzy memory shared by Amaker and Ba didn’t extend to some of Ba’s teammates. Senior Daniel Horton and junior Brent Petway both witnessed the incident.
“The fan came to the court and said something and put his hand on Amadou, and (Amadou) reacted,” Horton said. “I think Amadou should have handled it a little better, but at the same time, I’ve never seen that before. . It was just a weird situation. I’ve never seen a fan come on the court like that.”
Petway thought the fan was originally coming after him.
“I think (the fan) was coming to jaw with me because he was walking down looking right at me,” Petway said. “I just tried looking away because I didn’t want it to go out of hand like that.
“Amadou said he was jawing before that. Then I came out, and I guess he wanted to come out on the court and get a closer look at me.”
Horton was also a target of the fan.
“The guy came up to me and said something to me, and I could smell alcohol on his breath,” Horton said.
Denbow would not confirm whether alcohol was a factor, but he did say it looked like it was involved. He said medical personnel reported that it appeared the student in question had consumed alcohol.
ESPN had video of the incident and reported the fan tested positive for alcohol following a Breathalyzer test.
Security was not present during the incident. Numerous players in the Michigan locker room were surprised a fan could just come right up to the bench prior to the game.
“You just can’t let fans get on the court like that,” Petway said.
Despite the ugly incident, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo hoped the episode wouldn’t diminish the teams’ rivalry or take away from the game.
“To me he’s one of the nicest kids they’ve got,” Izzo said of Ba. “I don’t know exactly what happened so I’d be wrong to comment on it except that I hope bygones be bygones and that it doesn’t get looked at by either side in any way, shape or form to taint anything.
“I think our students for the most part have been pretty good and I think he’s a real good kid.”