LSU player’s brother arrested after SEC title game incident in Greenville. Here’s why

The older brother of LSU women’s basketball guard Flau’jae Johnson was arrested and charged with assault and battery in the third degree and disorderly conduct for his role in an on-court skirmish during Sunday’s SEC championship game between LSU and South Carolina, according to a news release.

The Greenville Police Department said in a news release Monday that 24-year-old Trayron Lenorris Milton of Georgia, who was identified by the ESPN broadcast and by LSU coach Kim Mulkey as Johnson’s brother, was charged after he “jumped over the barrier wall” at Bon Secours Wellness Arena in upstate South Carolina “and injured an SEC employee while doing so” during an altercation that made national news.

Milton joined the on-court skirmish after USC center Kamilla Cardoso shoved Johnson, the LSU guard and his younger sister, to the ground.

Cardoso’s shove came in reaction to Johnson making contact with USC forward Ashlyn Watkins late in the fourth quarter after Johnson intentionally fouled USC guard MiLaysia Fulwiley to prevent a fast-break layup. South Carolina went on to win the game 79-72.

“While Milton was jumping over the barrier, the victim was sitting at the scorer’s table at the edge of the court,” GPD said in a release. “To get over the table, Milton came from behind the table, pushed down on the victim’s head, and stepped on her shoulders to jump over.”

According to videos of the incident, Milton made brief contact with Cardoso after jumping over the scorer’s table and was near the middle of the on-court altercation for roughly three seconds before police officers on the scene escorted him away from the players and off the court.

A spokesperson for the Greenville Police Department confirmed to The State that Milton was arrested Sunday, the day of the game, and charged with assault and battery in the third degree and disorderly conduct (both of which are misdemeanor charges in the state of South Carolina) as a result of his involvement in the incident.

There was initially some confusion surrounding Milton’s status and whether or not he’d been charged or simply escorted out of the arena. An LSU spokesperson told The (Baton Rouge) Advocate on Sunday night that Milton had not been arrested before the GPD news release on Monday morning.

According to online jail records, Milton was booked at the Greenville County Adult Detention Center on March 10 after being charged. A trial judge set a temporary bond for Milton on both charges, according to online records. As of Monday morning, it wasn’t immediately clear whether or not those bonds had been posted (which would allow Milton to leave the jail).

The Greenville Police Department also wrote in its news release that “two other spectators jumped over the wall but did not reach the court because officers stopped them. These spectators were escorted out of the arena by officers,” but they were not charged.

USC’s Staley, Cardoso apologize

As a result of the skirmish, Cardoso, USC’s starting center, was ejected from the game. She has since apologized for her actions Sunday. ESPN reported during Sunday’s broadcast that Cardoso will miss South Carolina’s first NCAA Tournament game as a result of her ejection.

Johnson, the LSU guard, was not ejected as a result of the altercation and was assessed a common foul for intentionally fouling Fulwiley. LSU’s entire bench was ejected for leaving the bench area during the altercation, as were three players on USC’s bench (guard Tessa Johnson, forward Chloe Kitts and forward Sakima Walker).

After USC’s win, which kept the Gamecocks a perfect 32-0 this year and marked their eighth SEC tournament championship in the past 10 years, USC coach Dawn Staley apologized multiple times on the behalf of South Carolina and said she personally took responsibility for “what happened from our side of it.”

Staley also said that Johnson, the LSU guard involved in the altercation, approached Staley postgame and personally apologized to her for her role in the incident.

“She just apologized and said she’s not that type of player,” Staley said. “I really appreciate that. That’s something that somebody won’t ever hear if I didn’t say anything (publicly). And she’s not. She’s a really good person. Things just got escalated.”

Staley later added of the altercation: “I just don’t want the people who are tuning in to women’s basketball to see that and think that is our game, because it isn’t. Our game is a really beautiful thing. To be quite honest, this is a part of it now. So we have to fix it, and we have to move on.”