After Nick Saban said Alabama would handle any discipline of Jermaine Burton internally, the transfer wideout was on the field for all of the Tide’s win over Mississippi State.

Burton, a junior from California, allegedly struck a fan as the crowd stormed Neyland Stadium’s field last weekend in Tennessee. A TikTok video circulated online and Saban addressed the incident on Wednesday. On Saturday, he again drew attention to the complicated dynamics of post-game celebrations and player safety.

“Look, I don’t know how many of you have ever been in a situation like that but I talked to him,” Saban said. “He was scared. I was scared. Some of our other players were scared. I think you learn to respect other people because we have a responsibility to do that regardless of the circumstance that we’re in. I talked to the guy, we have him in a counseling program. … It’s about having the proper respect for other people. I didn’t think it was necessary to suspend the guy. If you knew the whole story, maybe you wouldn’t either, but I’m not going to divulge that.”

Some called for Alabama to punish Burton. During Saturday night’s game against the Bulldogs, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Burton was “working with anger management counselors.” Saban clarified postgame Burton is undergoing “counseling.”

Burton was targeted four times throughout Alabama’s 30-6 victory. He caught two passes for 40 yards, bringing him to 20 completions on the season for three touchdowns and 296 yards, third-most among Tide receivers.

Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].