Jimbo Fisher came under fire over the weekend for violently grabbing the facemask of one of his players during Saturday’s game, but the Texas A&M coach does not feel his actions warrant an apology.
While speaking with the media on Monday, Fisher was given an opportunity to express regret over the way he publicly snapped at Aggies starting linebacker Tyrel Dodson, who had just gotten into a scuffle with an Arkansas player. He denied grabbing the facemask and chalked it up to football being an “emotional game.”
Here's Jimbo's full response to grabbing Tyrel Dodson's facemask when asked if he regretted it. pic.twitter.com/so5cYseHgY
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 1, 2018
Fisher said he was merely trying to stress to Dodson, a captain and leader of Texas A&M’s defense, how important he is to the team and why he needs to stay in the game. He also said people are free to interpret the exchange any way they want.
Jimbo Fisher said everyone is entitled to their opinion [regarding the facemask incident], including his former players like Marcus Spears, and he respects all those opinions.
— Travis L. Brown (@Travis_L_Brown) October 1, 2018
Whether you approve of Fisher’s actions or not, it’s very clear that he grabbed Dodson’s facemask. Here’s the video:
Jimbo is not pleased. pic.twitter.com/JMvlk9zDEb
— Belle Es You (@SouthernbeLLSU) September 29, 2018
After his press conference ended, Fisher issued a clarification and admitted he did, in fact, grab the facemask.
Here's Jimbo's clarification after the presser: pic.twitter.com/bRft3OOyUL
— Ben Baby (@Ben_Baby) October 1, 2018
Perhaps Fisher feels there is no need to apologize because cameras don’t know exactly what he was saying, and even Dodson defended his coach following the incident. Still, it seems like Fisher took things a little too far.
