What the Sooners did on Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium didn’t go unnoticed, or forgotten, by Alabama football players.
After the No. 9 Crimson Tide fell 23-21 to No. 8 Oklahoma in November, Alabama‘s logo at midfield was roped off. Alas, a physical barrier didn’t stop OU players from crossing a moral boundary.
A group of Sooners hopped over the rope and players gathered to take a picture, but the only keepsake to emerge from the attempted photo opportunity was a video of Alabama staffer Tara Fuhrman commanding the opposing team to “Be respectful” and move away from the Script A that had seen better days.
Ahead of the Crimson Tide‘s trip to Norman for the first round of the College Football Playoff, wide receiver Ryan Williams addressed the viral moment with reporters.
“We seen it,” Williams said.
Oklahoma players who were involved in the debacle included, but were not limited to: sophomore Michael Boganowski, redshirt sophomore Reed DeQuasie, sophomore Jaydan Hardy, senior Robert Spears-Jennings and freshman Omarion Robinson. All aforementioned players are defensive backs, and Spears-Jennings led the now-infamous crew with five tackles in the game.
“We understand the disrespect,” Williams said. “We just got to handle it with a grain of salt and get ready to go play next Friday.”
Alabama (10-3) faces Oklahoma (10-2) on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. CT. The game will be televised on ESPN and ABC.
Emilee Smarr covers Alabama basketball and Crimson Tide athletics for The Tuscaloosa News. She can be reached via email at esmarr@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Alabama understands ‘the disrespect’ to logo by OU football players
