Arizona earned a memorable 85-80 victory over TCU on Sunday to claim its place in the Sweet 16.
Unfortunately, rather than focus on the outing itself or the impressive efforts exhibited by both teams – social media couldn’t stop talking about one particular incident after the fact.
Upon the conclusion of the game, the players involved proceeded to shake hands. During one particular sequence, some at home thought they noticed Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin do something odd.
The video largely speaks for itself:
Does Arizona’s #Mathurin usually celebrate wins like this? pic.twitter.com/tXUTOTPW6h
— Andrew (@Andrew24276927) March 21, 2022
Hey @MarchMadnessMBB @ArizonaMBB why did Benedict Mathurin have to touch a @TCU cheerleader in the breast? pic.twitter.com/4qe9rP7Oqx
— SportsFanatic (@GivingMyOpinion) March 21, 2022
As do the reactions after the fact:
@FoxNews @FOXSports @kayleighmcenany @TuckerCarlson @BretBaier @greggutfeld Please help this bring awareness to what this University of AZ player did to one of the TCU cheerleader/showgirls. It is completely inappropriate. Other news outlets are sweeping it under the rug. https://t.co/duhAyxTjmJ
— Stephanie Ross DeSimone (@StephRDeSimone) March 22, 2022
Another proud moment from @UofABasketball win over @TCUBasketball – boob touch on a TCU cheerleader from Mathurin. What in the actual $#*@ https://t.co/1KElViRh4n
— Mel Avanzado (@BruinMel) March 21, 2022
Fuckng disgusting Arizona player touching a TCU cheerleader’s boob https://t.co/GY97cjMlxz
— thank you gulch (@fdc_palace) March 21, 2022
That said, not everyone agreed that something was done wrong here.
Good try bad LOSERS at TCU!!! Not even close! Don’t try to cause our best player problems for some delusion cuz he beat you!!! Waa waa waa…crybabies! https://t.co/cSjt2A7OTT
— LukeSlyTalker (@Terence57084100) March 22, 2022
Yes after a classic game I’m sure his thought was I’m going to grope this cheerleader. She didn’t even react. Did he even touch her? Hey @MarchMadnessMBB and @ArizonaMBB block this fool. https://t.co/5ExjyTFciQ
— Scott Johnson (@scojoazsports) March 22, 2022
I mean I doubt it was on purpose https://t.co/f1ZqCJA2iN
— Kimbo Kardashian (@GoldnEagleWingz) March 22, 2022
It will be up to everyone at home to decide for themselves what precisely happened there. But clearly folks are divided.
Big picture, in a year where an ESPN cameraman sparked controversy when he couldn’t stop zooming in on a cheerleader’s butt and an ugly incident between a player and St. Bonaventure cheerleader went viral – this is just par for the course.
A gamechanger for college basketball. https://t.co/WtFvJ5unth
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 21, 2022
Will Arizona, TCU or any of the individuals involved ultimately opt to come out and comment on this incident? Time will tell.
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A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
