There was a bit of an awkward moment during Michigan State basketball’s blowout win over USC, as play was stopped as a referee pointed out what seemed to be a fan in the stands. Tom Izzo then motioned that he wanted that ‘fan’ to be removed from his seat. Then, the camera panned over, and it wasn’t just a fan; it was MSU legend Paul Davis who was being asked to leave.
After the game, Izzo explained the situation and why he asked Davis to leave:
“I love Paul Davis, I really do, he’s one of my favorite guys… What he said, you should never say anywhere in the world, and that ticked me off. And so, just because it’s 20 years later I’m going to have to call him tomorrow and tell him what I thought of it. And you know what he’ll say? ‘I screwed up coach. Sorry.’ He kind of got after the official and he was 150 percent wrong. And for a guy like me to 150 percent agree with the official, it’s almost illegal. So I feel bad that Paul did that because he’s been a guy that comes back a lot… But he’s been really good with our players… Let’s not get carried away, it wasn’t something racial, it wasn’t something sexual. It was just the wrong thing to say and I’ll leave it at that.”
You can watch the full exchange below:
And you can watch Izzo’s full comments on the Paul Davis ejection at the 10:20 mark of this video:
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Tom Izzo comments on Paul Davis ejection during Michigan State vs. USC
