Benjy Taylor, the head coach for men’s basketball at Division II Tuskegee University, was removed from the court in handcuffs following a postgame incident Saturday.
Footage shared on social media by HBCU Gameday depicts Taylor engaging with a security officer as players from Tuskegee and their rivals, Morehouse College, exchanged handshakes post-game.
After a brief interaction, the officer placed Taylor in handcuffs and escorted him out of the court and into a hallway at Morehouse’s Forbes Arena.
We have new footage and insight from Tuskegee 👀: https://t.co/eDyEz8cuSK pic.twitter.com/WdcYkcaCpE
— HBCU Gameday (@HBCUGameday) February 1, 2026
Taylor, along with Tuskegee’s athletic director Reginald Ruffin, stated that Taylor requested security to remove several Morehouse football players from the handshake line, claiming they were “yelling obscenities,” while Ruffin described the players as causing a “security breach.”
“I am at a loss for words, and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today,” Taylor expressed in a statement to multiple media outlets. “For my players, my family, and the people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking for me.”
“I was just trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were shouting obscenities behind me and my team. It felt like a very dangerous situation.”
Ruffin informed HBCU Gameday that the security officer offered a different version of events and claimed that Taylor was “very aggressive.” but, Ruffin disagreed, highlighting that “security measures” are “mandated by the conference,” asserting that Taylor’s actions were reasonable.
“He asked the security officer, ‘Can you please remove them from the line?’ That’s what he asked,” Ruffin said to HBCU Gameday.
On Sunday, civil rights attorney Harry Daniels announced that he represents Taylor in pursuing a potential lawsuit. Daniels stated that the Morehouse football players were “acting aggressively” towards Tuskegee players and their families.
“Such behavior from the Morehouse football players, especially their mingling with the basketball players on the court and during the postgame handshake, is against conference-mandated security protocols,” Daniels commented. “When Coach Taylor requested two police officers to enforce the protocols to de-escalate a situation, one of the officers instead chose to handcuff him and escort him off the court.”
As of Monday morning, it remained unclear which law enforcement agency the security officer represented. According to Daniels’ office, Taylor has not been charged with any crime, and the university confirmed he returned with the team on their bus to Tuskegee.
Taylor, in his sixth season as the coach, declined to provide further comments when reached by USA Today on Sunday, stating: “I am devastated and I will have no more comments at this time.” The Golden Tigers’ record now stands at 15-5 following their 77-69 loss to Morehouse.
“It’s unacceptable for a police officer to treat anyone this way,” Daniels noted in his statement. “But to do this to someone like Coach Taylor, a highly respected professional and role model, putting him in handcuffs, humiliating him, and treating him like a criminal in front of his team, family, and a gym full of fans is utterly appalling, and accountability is necessary.”
