Morehouse fined after Tuskegee basketball coach led off court in handcuffs

After Tuskegee’s game at Morehouse Jan. 31, Tuskegee basketball coach Benjy Taylor was seen being escorted off the court in handcuffs by police.

A video posted on X by HBCU Gameday shows footage of the incident, which occurred near where players lined up to shake hands after Morehouse’s 77-69 win. Taylor is seen pointing at the line and confronting a uniformed security officer. After a brief exchange, Taylor is put in handcuffs and led off the court at Forbes Arena.

According to HBCU Gameday, Taylor was asking security to remove Morehouse football players from the handshake line. Tuskegee athletic director Reginald Ruffin told HBCU Gameday that football players joining the line is against conference policy, saying “(w)e have security measures for our protection of our officials, our student athlete coaches and spectators,” and said he disagreed with the officer’s account that Taylor was acting aggressively.

Taylor released a statement to media, including Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, which said: “I am at a loss for words and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today. For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking for me. I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were following right behind me and the team yelling obscenities! It was a very dangerous situation.”

According to HBCU Gameday, Taylor was released and traveled with the team after the game.

When reached by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, a Morehouse spokesperson said the school is aware of the incident and is conducting an internal investigation.

The Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference released a statement after investigating the incident between Taylor and “a member of Morehouse College security staff,” announcing it will fine Morehouse an “undisclosed amount” and will “require corrective measures to ensure full compliance with conference security policies moving forward.”

The conference said Morehouse did not “satisfy the required security standards for a host institution, specifically as it relates to crowd control and ensuring the safe entry and exit of visiting teams and game participants.”

SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman added this in the statement: “The SIAC holds its member institutions to the highest standards of sportsmanship, professionalism, and institutional accountability. Our historic institutions are expected to provide competitive environments that prioritize the safety, dignity, and mutual respect of student-athletes, coaches, officials, and fans. The conference remains committed to upholding these expectations and to ensuring that all SIAC contests are conducted in a manner consistent with our shared values.”

Tuskegee University expressed support for Taylor in a letter signed by Ruffin and university President Mark A. Brown: “At no time did Coach Taylor engage in behavior that could be characterized as unbecoming, unprofessional, or inconsistent with the standards of Tuskegee University, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), Morehouse College, or intercollegiate athletics broadly. Conversely, the circumstances that culminated in Coach Taylor being handcuffed—albeit briefly—fall well outside the bounds of what is normal, acceptable, or appropriate in collegiate athletic environments. No coach should ever be placed in such a position for carrying out their duty to safeguard student-athletes.

“Tuskegee University is deeply concerned about the breakdown in established security procedures that contributed to this incident.”