Following the January 31 matchup between Morehouse College and Tuskegee University, Tuskegee Head Coach Benjy Taylor walked away in handcuffs at the end of the game. The incident gained traction throughout social media. Now, Taylor has filed a lawsuit against Morehouse College and their officers for an excess of up to $1M.
The officers filed in the lawsuit are identified as R. Clark and M. Roberson. Officer Clark was asked to remove Morehouse College football players from the court by Taylor after they allegedly harassed Tuskegee players and staff. After there was no resolution, Taylor claims to have notified Officer Clark again when the players ran onto the court during the postgame handshake line, where Tuskegee players started to scuffle with Morehouse football players. Taylor was then put into handcuffs by Officer Clark and escorted out of the area with the help of Officer Roberson.
Taylor was not charged with any crime, and released soon after his arrest but the saga did not conclude there. According to ESPN, the lawsuit under the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia Atlanta Division states, “Officer Clark handcuffed Coach Taylor in front of thousands of onlookers, including Coach Taylor’s family members and escorted him from the vicinity as if he were the most wanted individual in America. As a consequence of this reprehensible act and the miscarriage of justice directed at Coach Taylor, Coach Taylor has endured physical damage, emotional distress, and financial losses.”
Taylor’s attorney, Harry Daniels, said that after the whole interaction with Morehouse Police, Taylor had to be treated at a local medical center due to a high blood pressure spike. His lawsuit also includes Morehouse to have had “willful intent, malice, bad faith, and a reckless disregard for the consequences. The conduct of all individual Defendants, as elaborated upon herein, was intentional, malicious, and demonstrated a conscious indifference to the federally protected rights of Coach Taylor.”
This situation has put a permanent scar on Coach Taylor’s reputation, and Daniels said the seven-figure sum is not out of place “due to the publicity of what’s happening” and the future opportunities lost for Coach Taylor.
Around a month ago, the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) announced disciplinary action against Morehouse, consisting of a fine.
