Southeastern Conference Commissioner Greg Sankey wants the athletic directors from Mississippi and Mississippi State to meet him in the league office to discuss “creating a healthier environment” for the annual Egg Bowl matchup.
Mississippi State’s 35-3 victory over Ole Miss in Thursday’s Egg Bowl included a fight that resulted in four ejections. Sankey said Monday that “these incidents have become too common in this series.”
“It remains disappointing to have seen the unnecessary actions during and after the Mississippi State at Ole Miss game on Thursday night,” Sankey said in a statement. “These actions are unacceptable and my concern relates to the bigger issue of the repeated incidents before, during and after games between these football programs.
“I will require both athletics directors to meet with me at the SEC Office in the off-season to review past issues and develop a plan for the purpose of creating a healthier environment for this annual game.”
Upon video review, the SEC office determined that defensive backs Johnathan Abram and Jamal Peters from Mississippi State should have been ejected from the game, along with Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral and wide receiver A.J. Brown.
“These four student-athletes are hereby publicly reprimanded for their participation in the altercation during the game and subject to suspensions should there be any future similar actions,” the SEC said in its news release. “There will be no further action at this time.”
The SEC determined that MSU cornerback Cameron Dantzler and Ole Miss defensive back C.J. Moore were misidentified and should not have been booted from the game.
Every player for both teams was assessed a flagrant personal foul penalty that resulted in the ejection of State linebacker Willie Gay Jr., who had already drawn an unsportsmanlike conduct flag in the first quarter.
All the MSU players ejected for their involvement in the pile up with the Rebels will not face any suspensions from the Southeastern Conference.
The SEC released a statement on Monday stating that “personal foul penalties do not result in suspensions for subsequent games.”
