SEC Announces Punishment For Tennessee’s Fan Outburst

On Monday afternoon, the SEC announced its punishment for Tennessee after fans showered the field at Neyland Stadium with debris Saturday night.

Tennessee has been fined $250,000 for the incident, which is the equivalent of the same penalty the conference levies on schools who have had fans rush the field on three occasions. The money will be taken out of the school’s distribution of revenue from the conference.

In addition to the monetary punishment, Tennessee must “use all available resources, including security, stadium and television video, to identify individuals who threw objects on to the playing field or at the opposing team.”

Good luck with doing that. Any individuals that are identified will be prohibited from attending any Tennessee athletic events for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year.

The shocking outburst from UT fans occurred in the final minute of Saturday’s 31-26 loss to Ole Miss. Angry fans threw beverage, a bottle of mustard, at least one golf ball (which hit Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin) and other objects onto the field.

Play was stopped for several minutes before the game was completed.

“The Conference has established expectations for behavior and sportsmanship, and the actions of fans at Saturday night’s game were unacceptable under any circumstances,” SEC Commissioner Greg Stankey said in a statement late Saturday night. “We are accustomed to intense competition every week, but under no circumstances is it acceptable to endanger the contest participants and disrupt the game.”

Tennessee will not play at home again until November 13 when they host No. 1 Georgia. Hopefully the fans at Neyland will be better behaved that night.

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