The University of Memphis basketball player who was charged with assault in Ohio after punching a Bowling Green player during post-game handshakes has pleaded not guilty, according to TMZ.
Memphis guard Jamirah Shutes’ plea was entered in an Ohio court on Wednesday through her attorney, Steven Crossmock, who did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for confirmation. She is due back in court next month, TMZ reports.
As the teams walked toward center court following Bowling Green’s 73-60 win in Women’s NIT, Shutes stopped to talk with Falcons’ player Elissa Brett.
After a short conversation, Shutes appeared to throw a punch at Brett’s face. Brett fell toward the scorer’s table and onto the sideline.
There has been no explanation about what caused the confrontation. However, the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper reported that Shutes took an elbow to her face with 24 seconds left in the opening quarter and played just eight minutes in the first half. She returned to start the second half.
Memphis Tigers guard Jamirah Shutes (23) is escorted off of the court after the altercation
Bowling Green Falcons guard Elissa Brett (5), left, is assisted off of the court after the incident
‘Following Thursday’s unwarranted physical incident after the WNIT home game, the Bowling Green State University Police Department has charged a member of the Memphis Women’s Basketball team with assault,’ read a statement from the BGSU athletic department.
‘Additionally, BGSU Athletics is conducting its own review. Violence is never acceptable and our priority remains the health, safety and support of our student-athlete, who is recovering and doing well. This is an active investigation in conjunction with the City of Bowling Green Prosecutor, and no further comment is available at this time.’
Bowling Green coach Robyn Fralich didn’t directly comment on the incident after the game, saying only that they were ‘figuring all those things out,’ as far as what happened in the handshake line.
Memphis’ athletics department said Friday that the incident was ‘extremely unfortunate and certainly not consistent with, or representative of, our expectations for our programs and student-athletes.’
‘Because the incident occurred after the game, jurisdiction falls in the hands of local authorities, and we are cooperating fully with their process,’ the statement said. ‘To be respectful of that process, we will not comment further until it is complete.’
Shutes, a fifth-year player who finished with 13 points in her final game with the Tigers, was a second-team All-AAC selection this season.
Brett scored 15 points in the win.
Bowling Green was set to host Columbia on Wednesday in the Women’s NIT Final Four.
After a short conversation, Shutes appeared to throw a punch at Brett’s face
Earlier in the game, Brett (No. 5) drew a charge against the Tigers’ Shutes (No. 23)
Thursday’s incident followed a similar on-court confrontation following a Louisville-Texas game in the Women’s NCAA Tournament.
Cardinals leading scorer Hailey Van Lith tried to make her way through the handshake line after Louisville’s win when she was stopped by the first Longhorns player she met, Sonya Morris.
Morris grabbed Van Lith’s hand, preventing her from walking away as the two exchanged words.
It’s unclear what was said between the two or what the prior issue was, but Morris appeared to be delivering a pointed message to Van Lith, who responded by pushing the Texas senior to the side. Van Lith was clearly still chirping back at Morris as she continued slapping fives with the defeated Longhorns players.
The clip went viral, which wasn’t a surprise to Van Lith, ‘because it’s women’s basketball and people treat us differently all the time.’
‘I mean that happens in the NBA game every single day,’ Van Lith said ahead of Friday’s regional semifinal against Ole Miss. ‘Just because it was women’s basketball, they’re going to drag it out and it’s a whole deal. But, you know, it really wasn’t a big deal and people are trying to stretch.’
The incident between Morris (left) and Van Lith (right) took place after Monday’s game
Some social media lip readers attempted to deduce what was said during the heated exchange, but Van Lith dismissed those accounts when speaking to reporters on Thursday.
‘I’m not on social media so I don’t know what people are saying,’ she said. ‘I don’t really, particularly, worry about it. But I think if you know me and you watched me, that actually was a very calm moment for me.’
Following Monday’s game, Van Lith told the Louisville Courier-Journal that she won’t let anyone ‘disrespect’ her, adding that her ‘teammates got my back.’
‘And I don’t have nothing bad to say,’ Van Lith continued. ‘They’re coached great. They have great players. So, it is what it is. People are sad when they lose. I’d be sad, too.’
A Texas spokesperson declined to comment about the incident to DailyMail.com.
A Louisville spokesperson referred DailyMail.com to Van Lith’s post-game comments.
Louisville has since been knocked out of the Tournament by Iowa.
Van Lith (pictured) is done talking about her viral post-game exchange with Texas’ Morris
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