Tuskegee men’s basketball coach placed in handcuffs following postgame incident

Morehouse College defeated their rival Tuskegee University 77-69 in men’s hoops on Saturday, but the incident involving coach Benjy Taylor has led to him hiring a civil rights attorney in light of a potential lawsuit.

A rivalry basketball game between Morehouse and Tuskegee on Saturday (Jan. 31) turned into something different once the final buzzer sounded.

Tuskegee head coach Benjy Taylor was placed in handcuffs and led off the court following a postgame incident involving Morehouse football players who were in the handshake line along with Tuskegee basketball players.

Video of the aftermath of the incident was captured and shared by HBCU Gameday.

We have new new footage and insight from Tuskegee 👀: https://t.co/eDyEz8cuSK pic.twitter.com/WdcYkcaCpE— HBCU Gameday (@HBCUGameday) February 1, 2026

“I am at a loss for words, and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today,” Taylor said Saturday in a statement shared by multiple media outlets. “For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking for me. I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were following right behind me and the team yelling obscenities! It was a very dangerous situation.”

According to Taylor and Tuskegee athletic director, Reginald Ruffin, Taylor asked the security guard for assistance in removing the football team from the handshake line. Ruffin added that the presence of the football team created a “security breach.”

The security guard provided a different explanation for the scene, according to Rufffin, saying Taylor was “very aggressive.”

Taylor has hired civil rights attorney Harry Daniels in light of a possible lawsuit.

“Such behavior from the Morehouse football players, particularly their intermingling with the basketball players on the court and during the postgame handshake is prohibited by conference-mandated security protocols,” Daniels said in his statement. “When Coach Taylor asked two police officers to enforce those protocols attempting to diffuse an increasingly dangerous situation, however, one of the officers chose to place him in handcuffs and escort him from the court.”

“It would be bad for a police officer to treat anyone like this,” Daniels added. “But to do it to a man like Coach Taylor, a highly respected professional and role model, to put him in handcuffs, humiliate him and treat him like a criminal in front of his team, his family and a gym full of fans is absolutely disgusting and they need to be held accountable.”

Taylor, who is in his sixth season at Tuskegee, has led the Golden Tigers to a 15-5 record this season. He declined to add any further comment on the situation, saying he was “devestated” that it even happened.

In a letter addressed to “Tuskegee Family and Friends” on Sunday (Feb. 1), Ruffin and school president Dr. Mark A. Brown said Taylor has  “our full, unequivocal, and unwavering support.” 

“During the events in question, Coach Taylor acted solely out of his fundamental responsibility to protect his student-athletes and staff — particularly in an environment where agreed-upon and customary game‑management and security protocols were not properly carried out,” the letter said. “His conduct remained measured, professional, and entirely consistent with the expectations of a head coach entrusted with the safety of his team.”

On Monday (Feb. 2), the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) fined Morehouse an undisclosed amount over the incident, finding that the college “did not satisfy the required security standards for a host institution, specifically as it relates to crowd control and ensuring the safe entry and exit of visiting teams and game participants.”

“The SIAC holds its member institutions to the highest standards of sportsmanship, professionalism, and institutional accountability,”  SIAC Commissioner Anthony Holloman said in a statement. “Our historic institutions are expected to provide competitive environments that prioritize the safety, dignity, and mutual respect of student-athletes, coaches, officials, and fans. The conference remains committed to upholding these expectations and to ensuring that all SIAC contests are conducted in a manner consistent with our shared values.”