Four more Michigan State players have been suspended in the fallout of the postgame incident in the Michigan Stadium tunnel on Saturday night.
MSU announced Tuesday that cornerback Malcolm Jones, cornerback Justin White, defensive end Jacoby Windmon and defensive end Brandon Wright have been added to the list of Spartans suspended indefinitely. Those four join linebacker Tank Brown, cornerback Khary Crump, safety Angelo Grose and defensive end Zion Young, whose suspensions were announced on Sunday.
The suspensions stem from an altercation between players from both Michigan State and Michigan in the tunnel after Michigan’s 29-7 win on Saturday night. In video posted on social media, multiple MSU players appear to punch and kick one Michigan player. Other videos appear to show another Michigan player being attacked.
After the game, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said two of his players “were assaulted.” The family of one of the players, Gemon Green, told ESPN that Green was struck “with a helmet in the face, back and shoulder.” Another video shows Ja’Den McBurrows being surrounded by MSU players and kicked and punched several times.
On Monday, Harbaugh called the incident "egregious" and "sickening," and called for a thorough investigation and "serious consequences."
“There needs to be accountability," Harbaugh said. "There needs to be a full, thorough, timely investigation. I can’t imagine this will not result in criminal charges. The videos are bad. It's clear what transpired. It's very open and shut. As they say, watch the tape.”
Harbaugh later added, “An apology will not get the job done.”
Michigan State, in a statement attributed to athletic director Alan Haller and head coach Mel Tucker, said Tuesday that it is “transparently working with law enforcement and the Big Ten to evaluate additional facts and evidence surrounding the events in Ann Arbor.”
The suspensions for these eight players “will remain in place until the investigations are completed,” the MSU statement said.
Tucker, during his Monday media availability, called the actions of his players “unacceptable” and apologized.
“We’re not here to make any excuses for the behaviors on Saturday,” Tucker said.
Michigan State, now 3-5 on the year, will resume play on Saturday at Illinois. Michigan, still undefeated at 8-0, will face Rutgers on the road on Saturday night.