COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Big Ten has publicly reprimanded Ohio State offensive lineman Marcus Hall and the Buckeyes’ coaching staff for their actions in the wake of a fight during Saturday’s game at Michigan.
Hall was ejected from the game for coming onto the field to participate in the skirmish. As he was leaving the sideline, he angrily threw his helmet to the ground, kicked the team benches and then held up both hands in an obscene gesture.
Conference officials say Hall failed to demonstrate “integrity of the competition, civility toward all, and respect, particularly toward opponents and officials” as required by conference regulations.
Coach Urban Meyer has said he will issue punishment within the team to Hall and kick returner Dontre Wilson, who was seen throwing a punch, but has said neither would be held out of the Big Ten championship game between No. 2 Ohio State (12-0) and No. 10 Michigan State (11-1) on Saturday in Indianapolis (8:17 p.m./FOX).
Hall later apologized on his Twitter account.
The conference also scolded Meyer and his staff for “failing in its duty to effectively manage the process of escorting an ejected student-athlete from the playing field to the locker room,” conference spokesman Scott Chipman said.
After reviewing video of the incident, conference officials detemined that the officials managed the situation properly.
“The officials and coaching staffs from both institutions did a good job of containing the situation once it started. As bad as it was, we’re fortunate the incident did not escalate any further,” Chipman said in a statement released Monday.