Things got wild between players and fans after the Tennessee Vols suffered their first loss of the season on Saturday.
Volunteers players were trapped in a maelstrom of Arkansas supporters after the Razorbacks snagged a 19-14 victory at their Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville. The away team apparently had a tough time getting back to the locker room, as the student section is right in front of the visitor tunnel, and excited fans stormed the field after the crucial win.
A student stepped in front of a player, who appeared to be defensive lineman Omari Thomas, and was immediately shoved; he clattered into a female and sent her flying, with both of them hitting the ground.
Check it out in the video below:
Hey @Vol_Football, might want to teach your players that this could be considered assault… pic.twitter.com/GF9iShgolx
— Kristi Abbott (@kabbott725) October 6, 2024
The Tennessee Vols Are Expected To Address This Incident
Fans didn’t love what they saw but also argued that the custom of fans storming the field needs to be strictly prohibited.
“He was wrong, but this is exactly why they don’t want them storming the field,” someone commented. “They were kind of chippy the whole game.”
“No there is no reason either parties should be in a situation like this,” another wrote. “This has to stop. No reason fans should be running through the team trying to get to the locker room. Should be a rule students can’t storm until the away team leaves the field.”
It’s not clear what sparked the incident. Whether or not the fan said something to Thomas to cause him to react this way is still unknown, but he was clearly upset at something.
The Volunteers are expected to release a statement because an athlete getting physical with a fan could attract dire consequences.
