Alabama puts out official statement regarding fan incident with UGA player

Fan behavior was a big talking point coming out of Saturday’s Georgia-Alabama game.

Although some Alabama fans reacted to the loss and officiating by throwing water bottles on the field, one spectator came down from his seat and got in the face of and shoved Georgia linebacker Raylen Wilson.

The University of Alabama released a statement regarding the interaction on Thursday, stating it had identified the fan in question.

“Alabama has identified and taken appropriate action against the individual involved in videos circulating on social media following Saturday night’s football game,” Alabama athletics said in the statement. “We take matters of this nature seriously and will not tolerate this behavior.”

Wilson, a starting linebacker for the Bulldogs, initially downplayed the interaction after Saturday’s incident. In a post on Instagram, he stated he thought the fan in question was actually a Georgia supporter.

Wilson led Georgia in the win against Alabama with nine tackles.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart commented on the incident between his player and the fan when he spoke to reporters on Monday.

“You want people to make good decisions and do things the right way, and Raylen certainly did there,” Smart said. “There’s so much that goes into that. He thought it was a Georgia fan and probably helped him react the way he did initially. It’s disappointing behavior by any fan, and certainly nothing we condone, and I’m sure Alabama doesn’t condone it either.”