The Tennessee volunteers will be without star forward John Fulkerson for the rest of the SEC tournament after suffering “facial injuries” following what the teammates called a “dirty game” by Omar Payne in Florida in Friday’s quarterfinal.
Fulkerson was taken to the hospital after being hit in the face with Payne’s elbows with just over 17 minutes of playing time left, and the Vols took a 35-26 lead, a game that would have dropped him out of the game.
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Teammate Yves Pons told reporters after the Vols’ 78-66 victory that it was “a dirty game”.
“It’s nothing to do on a basketball court,” he told ESPN. “Of course we took it personally. We love John. We play for him. We had his back.”
Fulkerson took to Twitter to offer his forgiveness, adding that Payne reached out to him the next morning.
“I know a lot of people are upset about what happened during yesterday’s game,” she tweeted. “Omar reached out to me this morning and was very sorry. Everyone is making mistakes. Let’s all show mercy and focus on today’s game. Go Vols!”
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The senior in Florida released his own statement on social media saying he regretted the incident.
‘I have nothing but respect for John and [the] Tennessee Program, “she reports.” I apologized to John and also wanted to say that I publicly felt sorry for him, the Tennessee team and Coach Barnes. I wish them all the best at their NCAA tournament. ‘
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The team announced Saturday morning that Fulkerson has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament.
The Vols will take on Alabama at 13:00 ET on Saturday in an effort to reach the championship battle for a third consecutive tournament, without counting on the cancellation last year.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.