Police investigate 'unacceptable' scuffle after a Michigan-Michigan State football game

By Wayne Sterling and Holly Yan, CNN

Police for the University of Michigan and Michigan State University are jointly investigating a scuffle in a stadium tunnel after the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines defeated the unranked Michigan State Spartans 29-7 on Saturday.

Michigan football Head Coach Jim Harbaugh said two of his players were “assaulted,” and one of them may have a broken nose.

“I saw the one video, the 10 on one, it’s … pretty bad,” Harbaugh said.

A video posted on Twitter from The Detroit News showed several Spartan players in an altercation with a Wolverine player in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.

“What happened after the game is completely unacceptable,” Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel said.

Manuel said he has spoken with Big Ten Commissioner Kevin Warren, and “he is looking into it.”

“Police are also looking into it, and it’s because they’ve seen the video,” Manuel said. “We will leave it in their hands.”

CNN has reached out to the Big Ten for comment.

Michigan State President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. apologized to Michigan, calling the incident “unacceptable behavior.”

“I’m extremely saddened by this incident and the unacceptable behavior depicted by members of our football program,” Stanley said in a statement.

“On behalf of Michigan State University, my heartfelt apology to the University of Michigan and the student athletes who were injured. There is no provocation that could justify the behavior we are seeing on the videos. Rivalries can be intense but should never be violent.”

Michigan State football Head Coach Mel Tucker addressed the scuffle on Twitter.

“As Spartans our program has a responsibility to uphold the highest level of sportsmanship,” Tucker tweeted Sunday.

“While emotions were very high at the conclusion of our rivalry game at Michigan Stadium, there is no excuse for behavior that puts our team or our opponents at risk.”

MSU’s president said “Coach Tucker will be holding the players involved responsible, and our football team and university will be cooperating with all related investigations by law enforcement and the Big Ten Conference.”

The two schools released a joint statement saying, “The University of Michigan Police, in partnership with Michigan State University Police, Michigan Athletics and Michigan football, is actively reviewing footage and investigating the postgame incident.”

“Situations like these, and the safety of the community, are taken very seriously,” the statement said.

The cross-state schools have had a storied rivalry for generations.

“But this is not how we should interact after a game,” said Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director. “It’s completely and utterly unacceptable. … This is not what a rivalry should be about.”

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