Linebacker DeAndre Square and assistant equipment manager Allen Belcher had a "jersey swap" Sunday to show there were no hard feelings about Square shoving Belcher on the sideline at South Carolina. (Twitter Photo)
Many Kentucky football fans — as well as others on social media — have been upset with UK senior linebacker DeAndre Square for knocking down a UK equipment manager during the Cats’ 16-10 win at South Carolina Saturday.
Square, who had eight tackles against the Gamecocks, was pursuing South Carolina quarterback Luke Doty and closing in for the tackle before Doty ran out of bounds on the UK sideline. Doty headed back to his huddle but Square kept running several yards and shoved Allen “Tink” Belcher of Danville so hard he tumbled backwards on the ground.
I saw it happen on TV and thought it was Belcher, who was a fixture on the Danville High School sidelines and then the UK sidelines as a student-manager. He’s now in his eighth season as the assistant equipment manager for football. He’s also been head equipment manager for baseball for four years and was a graduate assistant in 2012 for the UK softball team. His wife is former UK softball star Molly Johnson-Belcher who is an assistant on the UK softball staff.
Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Monday he did not know about the hit until Sunday. By then, Square had already tweeted: “What y’all don’t know is me and my guy think already talked about what happened… I apologized and we good!!”
Knowing Belcher’s gentle disposition, that did not surprise me. It also was no surprise that on Sunday afternoon Belcher tweeted a picture of him and Square with a “jersey swap” even though Belcher’s jersey was actually a T-shirt. That jersey swap tweet picked up a lot of national attention as well.
Stoops said he talked with Belcher Monday morning to make sure there was not a problem between him and Square.
“I went down and talked to Tink this morning, and Tink was all smiling about it,” Stoops said. “I wanted to make sure he was OK. He said he and DeAndre were laughing about it after the game and had words. He loves DeAndre, and DeAndre loves him. No hard feelings.
“I better just stop there, because if I try to defend somebody, somebody is going to roll me over about it. Tink’s message was, ‘That’s a sideline, that’s football.’ He’s been here a long time. That was him, his words.”
Not everyone was happy with Stoops’ explanation or no mention of any disciplinary action for Square. However, note that Belcher posted the jersey swap photo Sunday at 1 p.m. — about 14 hours after the game ended. If he’s good with what happened, and I have no doubt if he wasn’t that he would not have made that clear, then moving on is what should be done.
I am not saying Square is right. He made a mistake. He apologized, apology accepted.
The only question I have is when did Belcher pick up the nickname “Tink” and what does it mean.
5 Responses
I’m not going to defend Square on this as he needs to play within himself and be cognizant of his actions. This could cost him big time at the next level as the NFL will throw fines at the drop of a hat and that playing arrogance (or swagger) could get someone hurt. That said, and it’s probably a bad analogy but, a football player playing the game is much a like a solder getting shot at. His testosterone and adrenalin is pumping and he is focused on just one thing and not exactly thinking about the broader world around him. Further, college football players are not exactly physically normal. They are bigger and faster than the average dude and therefore more dangerous. If you are not currently engaged in the game, it’s best to give players a wide birth when they are!
All is well that ends well.
I agree Michael
Great resolution. Shake hands and learn from it.
I agree Sarah