HBCU basketball coach placed in handcuffs after tense conference matchup

Chaos erupted after Saturday night’s SIAC matchup when Tuskegee head coach Benjy Taylor was handcuffed and escorted off the court by police moments after his team’s 77–69 loss to rival Morehouse.

According to HBCU Gameday, Taylor was trying to enforce postgame security rules when the situation spiraled. Morehouse football players reportedly joined the handshake line — a direct violation of conference policy — prompting Taylor to ask security to step in.

Tuskegee athletic director Reginald Ruffin said Taylor did exactly what the SIAC protocol requires.
“We have security measures for the protection of our officials, our student-athletes, coaches, and spectators,” Ruffin told HBCU Gameday. “Those measures are mandated by the conference office and used across all member institutions.”


Instead, officers detaining Taylor described him as “very aggressive,” a claim Ruffin pushed back on.

Taylor said the scene that unfolded left him “heartbroken.”

“I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were yelling obscenities,” he told The Field of 68. “It was a very dangerous situation. For my players and my family to see me treated that way was devastating.”

Taylor, who has led the Golden Tigers since 2019, was released shortly after being detained and traveled home with the team, according to the school.

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