Arizona defeated TCU last week to advance to the Sweet 16. While the game itself was interesting, what captured headlines after the fact was a video of Arizona star Bennedict Mathurin’s encounter with a cheerleader.
In the now-viral clip, many wondered if Mathurin made contact with the cheerleader’s chest.
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
This week, an alternate angle of the incident emerged. It should settle once and for all whether there was any purposeful groping going on:
definitely not intentional pic.twitter.com/yIMjsbZkgp
— big sports girl (@p3ttyprinc3ss24) March 22, 2022
Understandably, some began calling for an apology:
This man deserves an apology https://t.co/NvzwapSM4L
— Jaren (@JMcCrae35) March 24, 2022
Different angle, different point of view?https://t.co/Z5OF2XIE7M
— SimPaq (@SimonPa09460070) March 24, 2022
Better angle. You can tell it was not on purpose. https://t.co/4aKveHKjFK
— Tiffani (@Brickhousetiffi) March 24, 2022
People will do anything for a story, Move on, nothing to see here. Believe me he doesn’t have to grope anyone on national tv to get some love from the ladies what’s the world coming to https://t.co/n8n92L8Ql2
— Markas Brunson (@MarkasBrunson) March 24, 2022
Despite the video seemingly exonerating him, Mathurin still wanted to make sure the cheerleader was okay.
Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin addresses the video of him allegedly touching a TCU cheerleader while walking off the court in San Diego. pic.twitter.com/t28Wb06ZbA
— The Wildcaster (@TheWildcaster) March 23, 2022
“I actually sent an email, I reached out to the cheerleader, through the TCU athletic department,” Mathurin said on Wednesday. “I reached out to her, and that’s it.”
Hopefully that will settle that.
In a year where an ESPN camera guy incited outrage when he simply could not stop zeroing in on a cheerleader’s butt and an unfortunate altercation between a player and St. Bonaventure cheerleader went viral – this nonsense feels like par for the course.
Kenny Pickett’s girl has now weighed in on his tiny, tiny hands. https://t.co/Qe71kOB6n8
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 24, 2022
Hopefully now that that this issue has been put to bed both Mathurin and Arizona can focus on the task at hand: advancing in the NCAA Tournament.
How far will they ultimately get?
Time will tell.
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