The SEC on Thursday afternoon commented on the feud between Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher with matching punishments.
Both coaches were issued a public reprimand for their public comments under SEC Bylaw 10.2.3 and 10.5.2.
The membership of the Southeastern Conference has established expectations for conduct and sportsmanship that were not met last night nor today,” SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement announcing the reprimands. “A hallmark of the SEC is intense competition within an environment of collaboration. Public criticism of any kind does not resolve issues and creates a distraction from seeking solutions for the issues facing college athletics today.
“There is tremendous frustration concerning the absence of consistent rules from state to state related to name, image and likeness. We need to work together to find solutions and that will be our focus at the upcoming SEC Spring Meetings.”
Saban’s reprimand came for his Wednesday night comments saying Texas A&M “bought every player on their team.” They Bylaw 10.5.2 prohibits derogatory comments or public criticism of another SEC program.
Saban apologized for singling out specific schools in a Thursday afternoon interview on SiriusXM.
Fisher’s fiery Thursday response got the same punishment for the multiple comments about Saban’s history and insinuations of past cheating. Fisher called his old boss a narcissist who is treated like a God in college football.
The SEC ruled that violated bylaw 10.2.3 that banned derogatory comments with slightly different wording.
Lane Kiffin, then at Tennessee, got a public reprimand from the SEC in 2009 when accusing then-Florida coach Urban Meyer of cheating at a booster event.
Michael Casagrande is a reporter for the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @ByCasagrande or on Facebook.