Toward the end of the first half of Alabama’s win over Texas A&M, T.J. Yeldon scored on a four-yard touchdown run that pushed the Tide’s lead to 28-14.
The running back celebrated the score by flashing a “money” gesture at the Kyle Field crowd, along with a double throat-slash, and was promptly flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Head coach Nick Saban was understandably livid at Yeldon following the 15-yard penalty and was not shy in laying into his player when he came back to the sidelines.
The penalty didn’t ultimately cost the Tide on the scoreboard as A&M was unable to score on the final drive of the half, but Saban was still extremely upset about it in his postgame talk with the media.
“That’s not us,” Saban said. “That’s not our program. That’s not what we do. We’ve never ever tolerated it and we’ve never ever had it.
“I don’t think there’s any place for it in college football. I can’t control what other people do, but I can control what our guys do.”
In an unusual move Monday, Alabama released a statement from Yeldon in which the back offered up a mea culpa for what he described as his “selfish actions” after the touchdown.
“I want to apologize to everyone for my selfish actions on Saturday. That is not the way I want to represent myself, my family and our team. That is not the way we do things at Alabama. This is something that I will learn from, and I will use better judgment in the future.”
I’m guessing that Saban will ensure his leading rusher uses better judgment in the future, one way or another.
