Memphis guard Jamirah Shutes has been charged with assault for allegedly hitting Bowling Green player Elissa Brett as the two teams lined up to shake hands following the Falcons’ third-round victory at the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) on Thursday for the night, police said.
The Bowling Green State University Police Department issued a news release Friday confirming that Shutes, a fifth-year player, was charged after the «unwarranted physical incident» involving Brett at the end of BGSU win 73-60.
«After the unjustified physical incident on Thursday after the WNIT Home Match, The Bowling Green State University Police Department has charged a member of the Memphis women’s basketball team with assault,» the statement said.
MEMPHIS SHUTES’ JAMIRAH ALLEGEDLY HITTING BOWLING GREEN’S ELISSA BRETT ON WNIT; THE POLICE INVESTIGATED
«Violence is never acceptable, and our priority remains the health, safety and support of our recovering and well-recovering student athlete. This is an active investigation in conjunction with the Bowling Green City Attorney, and no further comments are available.» at the moment.»
Police said BGSU Athletics was also conducting its own review.
The event occurred at the end of the Memphis-BGSU Sweet 16 Showdown. As both teams approached Center Court to shake hands, Shutes seemed to stop as he reached Brett.
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Shutes then punched Brett and forced her to the ground, according to police.
A member of the Tigers’ coaching staff appeared to grab Shutes and escort her off the court.
According to an incident report, Brett suffered a «swelling in his right eye from this blow.»
Memphis issued a statement Friday confirming that it was working with local authorities.
«The incident that occurred after Thursday’s women’s basketball game was extremely unfortunate and is certainly not consistent with or representative of our expectations for our programs and student-athletes,» the statement said.
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«Because the incident occurred after the game, jurisdiction rests with local authorities and we are fully cooperating with their process. To be respectful of that process, we will not comment further until it is complete.»
A Tennessee native, Shutes became the 27th player in program history to score 1,000 points. She ranks 13th at the school all-time in career points.