Police appeared to use pepper spray while trying to break up a wild postgame brawl between Ohio State and Michigan.
The Fox Sports broadcast caught Wolverines Tavierre Dunlap and Jason Hewlett on the sideline with tearing eyes after apparently being pepper sprayed by police officers on the field.
A player planting a Michigan flag at midfield seemingly prompted the brawl. FOX News
Two Michigan players were seen tearing up on the sideline after apparently getting pepper sprayed by police on the field. Barstool Sports / X
Multiple reports said pepper spray was used to de-escalate the skirmish after the Wolverines’ 13-10 upset of the No. 2 Buckeyes in Columbus, Ohio on Saturday.
Other footage showed Michigan defensive lineman Mason Graham seemingly getting pepper sprayed amid the chaos.
Wolverines defensive lineman Mason Graham appears to be pepper sprayed by police after Michigan’s 13-10 upset win over Ohio State on Nov. 30, 2024. Screengrab
Madness ensued after the Ohio State-Michigan game on Saturday. FOX NewsA third angle shows a police officer pepper-spraying a group of Ohio State players as they try to break up the skirmish.
According to the Associated Press, Ohio State police said in a statement that “multiple officers representing Ohio and Michigan deployed pepper spray.”
University police said they will continue to investigate the brawl.
Brian Steel, president of the police union representing officers in Franklin County, posted on social media that an officer was injured.
“Officers are authorized to use pepper spray to stop assaults and protect themselves and others,” Steel added.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Pat Forde said he was caught in the crossfire.
“Just got secondhand pepper sprayed,” Forde wrote on X.
Players scrum at midfield following a football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Michigan Wolverines. Barbara J. Perenic/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn ImagesThe brawl broke out moments after Michigan upset Ohio State as Wolverines players tried to plant their flag on the Buckeye’s logo at midfield.
“I don’t know all the details of it, but I know these guys are looking to put a flag on our field and our guys weren’t not gonna let that happen,” Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said after the game. “I’ll find out exactly what happened, but this is our field. We certainly were embarrassed of the fact that we lost the game, but there’s some prideful guys on this team that weren’t just gonna let that happen.”
Police attempt to break up players from Ohio State and Michigan after a postgame brawl. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConMultiple players could be seen going at it as security, police and team staff tried to separate them.
“For such a great game, you hate to see stuff like that after the game,” Michigan running back Kalel Mullings said. “That’s just bad for the sport, bad for college football. But at the end of the day, some people gotta learn how to lose.
Michigan upset Ohio State with a 13-10 win on Saturday. FOX News“You can’t be fighting and stuff just because you lost a game. All that fighting, we had 60 minutes, we had four quarters to do all that fighting. And now people want to talk and fight, that’s wrong. It’s just bad for the game. Classless, in my opinion. People gotta better.”
The ugly scene went on for several minutes before tempers calmed.
“Unnecessary gesture by the Wolverines,” Fox play-by-play man Gus Johnson said. “They won the game, no need to be disrespectful.”
