Body Camera Video Shows The Fight That Broke Out At Midfield After Ohio State's Loss To Michigan

Posted • December 13, 2024: The Buckeyes were trying to sing "Carmen Ohio" at the south end of the stadium, a post-game tradition, as multiple Wolverines carried out a Michigan flag to midfield and tried to plant it on the Block O. Essentially, the entire Ohio State team took exception and a brawl broke out between dozens of players. At one point, Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer was able to grab the flag and rip it off the pole before walking away. Body camera footage from an Ohio State officer shows the players immediately reacting to Sawyer taking the flag. Dozens of officers rushed onto the field, trying to get players and staff off each other. Bodycam video from a Franklin County deputy shows him trying to intervene and help control the crowd. At one point, he is seen trying to move a Michigan player away from the skirmish and has his stun gun drawn. The deputy can be heard saying "Stop, or I'm Tasing you" before the player walks away.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is seen on video watching the fight break out from across the field and walking over to quarterback Will Howard and several other players who were standing away from the scene. The fight was eventually broken up after pepper spray was deployed and the players separated. The Ohio State University confirmed Tuesday that three total officers from three different agencies used pepper spray — University of Michigan Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Ohio State police. Police said that their use of force policy allows for the use of pepper spray when it is "objectively reasonable to defend police personnel from physical harm or stop an attack that may result in physical harm to another person." Video shows the Day and the players watch as several of their teammates emerge from the pile, wiping at their eyes. Day is then seen heading into the tunnel wordlessly with players as a couple of them yell about the fight and the game.

University police said that during the fight, one officer suffered a head injury and was taken to the hospital. The officer was later released. No charges have been filed in the incident, police added. Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Jim Gilbert said in his more than 30 years in law enforcement, he had never seen a fight like this one. "I don't think there's any police academy out there that's training police officers to be on a field and to try to separate 15–20 people in full gear that are involved in an altercation after a game,” he said. Gilbert said his department was focused on monitoring the crowd until they quickly had to pivot to separating players. When their efforts to stop the fight continued to be unsuccessful, several officers deployed mace, after giving multiple warnings ahead of time. Gilbert said he believed the use of force was necessary.

"I can tell you that from my perspective as the detail commander there for the sheriff's office, mace was the right option… it was in the air, and it made people separate to try to get to where there was no mace, which had the desired effect,” Gilbert said. As challenging as it was, Gilbert acknowledged it could have been worse. "Thank God the fans did not rush the field, because as law enforcement, we had our hands full already with both teams getting into it, the crowds roaring,” Gilbert said. The Big Ten Conference issued a $100,000 fine to both Ohio State and Michigan after they determined that the actions of both teams "violated the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy." The brawl came after a hard-fought and emotional 13-10 loss for Ohio State. Will Howard threw two interceptions and Jayden Fielding missed two field goals.

In his postgame press conference, Ohio State coach Ryan Day said he understood his players' actions. “There are some prideful guys on our team who weren't going to sit back and let that happen,” Day said. The two Ohio State players made available after the game brushed off questions about it. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said both teams could have handled the situation differently. “So much emotions on both sides,” he said. “Rivalry games get heated, especially this one. It’s the biggest one in the country, so we got to handle that better.”