CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Baker Mayfield is hoping the NCAA doesn’t outlaw flag planting.
Mayfield, who gained notoriety when he ran onto the field and planted an Oklahoma flag at midfield of Ohio State’s stadium following a win by the Sooners in 2017, said the altercations Saturday that followed similar flag-planting incidents across the country are just part of college football’s rivalries.
“I’ll say this: OU-Texas does it every time they play,” Mayfield said after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 26-23 overtime win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. “It’s not anything special. You take your ‘L’ and you move on. I’ll leave it at that.”
On Sunday, the Big Ten Conference fined Michigan and Ohio State $100,000 each for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy for the on-field melee at the end of the Wolverines’ win in Columbus, Ohio.
Wolverine players attempted to the plant the Michigan flag on the OSU logo at midfield and were quickly confronted by Buckeyes players.
A fight broke out between the teams. Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer grabbed the top of the Wolverines’ flag and ripped it off the pole, and players were shoving and punching each other.
Police used pepper spray to break up the altercation. A police union official said one officer suffered a head injury when he was “knocked down and trampled while trying to separate players fighting.”
The officer was treated at a hospital and released.
Similar scenes played out in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after at least one North Carolina State player tried to plant a Wolfpack flag on UNC’s field following a 35-30 win. And there was a dust-up in Tallahassee, Florida, after Gators edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. planted a flag on Florida State’s logo after a 31-11 win.
When asked if the NCAA should ban flag planting, Mayfield responded, “ College football’s meant to have rivalries. It’s like the Big 12 banning the ‘Horns down’ signal.”
He added: “Let the boys play.”
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