UTEP will “take appropriate action” after a fan wielding a chair confronted Jacksonville State players after a season-ending loss for the Miners at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso.
The Jax State Gamecocks defeated UTEP with a 3-point shot at the buzzer for a 64-61 win that ends the Miners’ disappointing 11-20 season.
“We are going to review the video when we attain it. We will take appropriate action as needed,” UTEP athletic director Jim Senter said in a statement.
According to an ESPN+ video, after the game ended, as both teams’ players were on the handshake line, a fan in what appeared to be the second row picked up a “UTEP” portable chair during a heated verbal altercation with Jax State players and staff next to the scorers’ table.
The fan, wearing glasses and a white shirt, is held back by a woman next to him, tugging at his arm as words were exchanged between a few Jax State players and two or three fans. It was unknown what was said.
“This is getting ugly,” one of the announcers said in the ESPN broadcast, which mentioned that the back-and-forth between UTEP fans and Jacksonville State had been occurring throughout the game.
No punches were thrown, and eventually only one fan was told to leave, five minutes after the final buzzer. The only UTEP player inthe middle of the fracas was forward Elijah Jones, who appeared to be trying to join the peace-making efforts.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X. Maxwell Dodson of the Gadsden Times, part of the USA Network, contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: UTEP fans confrontation with Jacksonville State players under review
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
