Scuffle ensues after man allegedly punches former LSU coach after Texas A&M game
LSU officials say a scuffle started after the Tigers’ crazy seven-overtime loss to Texas A&M when a man with a sideline credential punched a former LSU coach.
A spokesperson for the school said a man in a red shirt punched former LSU offensive coordinator Steve Kragthorpe in the chest. Kragthorpe has Parkinson’s Disease. He is expected to be OK.
#LSU confirmed that analyst Steve Kragthorpe was punched by the credentialed member from Texas A&M. Kragthorpe has been checked out and is OK.
— Brooks Kubena (@BKubena) November 25, 2018
LSU’s coaches reacted accordingly after the punch, including director of player personnel Kevin Faulk. The former NFL running back went after the man in this incredible photo captured by an Advocate photographer.
POSTGAME | #LSU director of player personnel Kevin Faulk and an unknown man with what appears to be an #Aggie bench credential throw punches on the field after @AggieFootball defeated @LSUfootball in 7-OT @theadvocatebr pic.twitter.com/H7EvCNmoIv
— Hilary Scheinuk (@hscheinukphoto) November 25, 2018
You can see a scuffle in this video here but there’s no ability to see what precipitates it. The game, which tied for the longest in FBS history by going seven overtimes, took five hours to complete.
Fight breaks out between LSU assistant and Aggie assistant. It’s a rivalry #TAMUvsLSU pic.twitter.com/JHUihGToX4
— Zach Taylor (@ZachTaylorSport) November 25, 2018
The Advocate reported that Dameyune Craig was in the middle of the incident. The current Texas A&M receivers coach used to be the LSU receivers coach.
There was a large shouting match near midfield after the game, and multiple sources said Texas A&M receivers coach Dameyune Craig was at the heart of it. Craig, who was LSU’s receivers coach in 2016, approached LSU’s bench in the midst of a crowd storming shouting vulgarities. Sources near the incident said he threw his headset at LSU staffers and challenged them to fight.
Kragthorpe confirmed to USA Today that Craig was the person who started the incident with trash talking. He said the man punched him in the chest.
“Out of nowhere, I got nailed,” Kragthorpe said in a phone interview while he drove back home from the game Sunday afternoon. “I didn’t go down, but I clutched over. I was like, ‘Damn, he got me right in my pacemaker.’ Then it started fluttering like he jostled it.”
Kragthorpe said he didn’t feel perfect and that he was going to see his neurologist on Monday.
Per the Dallas Morning News, the A&M staffer who allegedly punched Kragthorpe came over to find Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher after the game. When asked by reporters after the game, Fisher said he didn’t have any information regarding the postgame kerfuffle.
Video of the interaction between Jimbo and the A&M staffer involved in the post-game altercation. pic.twitter.com/wkDXK65Zwl
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) November 25, 2018
Texas A&M won 74-72 after converting a two-point conversion in the final overtime. LSU scored to open overtime but missed the conversion after its touchdown. Teams are required to go for two after touchdowns starting in the third overtime.
Kragthorpe, 53, currently serves as an analyst for LSU. He was the team’s offensive coordinator in 2011 and 2012 and became a special assistant after he was diagnosed.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
Follow @NickBromberg on Twitter
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