Video appears to show Alabama WR strike Tennessee fan
The Alabama football program is looking into an incident from the Tennessee game after a viral video appears to show a Crimson Tide receiver strike a fan.
The video involves Jermaine Burton as he walked to the locker room amid the chaos of the 52-49 Tennessee win. He appears to strike a fan who walks through his path as the Tennessee student section emptied onto the Neyland Stadium turf.
“We are aware of the situation with Jermaine Burton as he was exiting the field Saturday,” read a statement from Nick Saban released through UA media relations Wednesday. “We are currently working to gather more information.”
The video posted on TikTok by the user @emilyisaacs came with a caption explaining the choppy footage.
“Jermaine Burton smacking me in the head while walking past him after their loss Saturday,” the caption read.
The account went private late Wednesday afternoon so links to the video went down.
The Alabama locker room tunnel is located in the same end zone as the Tennessee student section.
Tennessee was fined $100,000 for violating the SEC’s rule prohibiting fans from entering the playing field after a game.
Saban asked on the SEC teleconference about the rule and fine structure.
“Well I think it’s a difficult situation for the league,” Saban said. “It’s a difficult situation for all of us that are in this situation. We certainly don’t condone any mistreatment of anybody whether they should or shouldn’t be there. I think you have to have respect for other people but at the same time it’s a difficult situation for all of us.”
Saban said he made it to the Alabama locker room unharmed after leaving Texas A&M with three bruises last October in a field storming.
This post will be updated.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.