New perspective on last month’s Nick Saban vs. Jimbo Fisher/Texas A&M saga came in the form of emails published Monday morning by On3.com.
The website used open records requests to obtain messages between Texas A&M president M. Katherine Banks, athletics director Ross Bjork and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey. The emails began the morning of May 19, after Saban’s widely publicized comments at a Birmingham speaking engagement the night before. The Alabama coach told the audience gathered for a World Games event that A&M “bought every player” in its top-ranked 2022 recruiting class.
That comment and AL.com video of it quickly went viral and Aggie officials responded via email to the SEC the following morning, On3 reported Monday.
The initial email called Saban’s comment “false, beneath the dignity of the SEC, and corrosive to the fabric of sportsmanship in college football.”
It went on to call for a public apology from Saban to Fisher and Texas A&M while stating the SEC “should also consider monetary and participation penalties against Coach Saban,” according to On3.
The site also reported Fisher had a phone call with Sankey that morning in which he told the commissioner he planned to hold a news conference in response to Saban’s remarks. Sankey warned against stepping over the line in the 10 a.m. event in which Fisher would unleash on Saban, calling him a narcissist and hinting at past recruiting improprieties.
By 3:45 p.m. CT, the SEC issued public reprimands for both Saban and Fisher a news release for violating league sportsmanship rules.
Complete emails in the exchange can be found at On3.com.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.