February 15, 2023
Don’t Touch! Viral Video Shows HBCU Cheerleader Ejected After Basketball Player Interrupts Routine
A classic case of “Oops, my bad!” lead to a cheerleader being ejected from an HBCU college game.
During a conference game between Mississippi Valley State and Alabama A&M University, The New York Post reported Dailin Smith, a junior guard/forward for Alabama, accidentally touched a Mississippi Valley State cheerleader during her routine. Video showed she was mid-air, close to the baseline when the incident occurred.
With three minutes left in the game, the game went to the opposite side of the court, but when the play returned, things got physical. The video, seen over 200,000 times on Youtube, showed that same cheerleader walking onto the court and proceeding to push and address Smith.
MVSU commentators, Caleb Brunson and Andre Williams, got a bird’s eye view of the incident as it occurred, and were notably distracted. Viewers could hear someone yelling for security as the camera panned to the court to give a play-by-play. Security walked over to the cheerleader to escort her out. “Security is getting involved and it’s getting real heated here,” Brunson said. “There going to say she has to go.”
According to BET, the cheerleader’s name hasn’t been made public, however college officials did make a statement. “The Mississippi Valley State University student involved is extremely apologetic about the incident and has written a sincere apology acknowledging her mistake,” the statement said. “MVSU officials will be reaching out to Alabama A&M officials.”
To add salt to the open wound, Alabama A&M beat Mississippi Valley State University 70-68 in double overtime, thanks to a clutch shot from junior guard, Messiah Thompson. The victory helped A&M’s record improve to 10-15, with a 6-6 record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Post reported Mississippi State’s record dropped to 3-23, with a 2-10 conference record.
With the cheerleader’s behavior being reported to the university’s judicial affairs office, she won’t be allowed to cheer until the judicial affairs office completes an investigation.