HOME / NEWS / SPORTS

Bennedict Mathurin apologizes to TCU cheerleader for 'chest tapping' that may NOT have actually happened

In the clip, Mathurin's hand appeared to touch the TCU cheerleader's chest while he walked past the stands to the locker room

Canadian college basketball player Bennedict Mathurin has divided the Internet after a video of him apparently tapping a TCU cheerleader on her chest went viral from Sunday's March Madness game. In the clip, the Arizona Wildcats player looks towards the stands and takes a bow with his arms spread wide. While the 19-year-old walked past the cheerleaders, making his way to the locker room, his hand appeared to touch the TCU cheerleader's chest. 

The videos of the incident have garnered a lot of attention on social media, with Twitter debating whether Mathurin deserves to be disciplined or if what happened was simply an accident. 

As per ESPN, Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke issued a statement saying, "Shortly after returning to Tucson, I was notified that people on social media were claiming a video clip showed Bennedict Mathurin may have made physical contact with a TCU student while walking off the court. I have reached out to TCU's Athletics Department and I spoke with Bennedict. While he does not recall any contact, he has attempted to reach out to the TCU student through their Athletic Department to apologize."

READ MORE

Cindy Cerny and Nathan Paris: Indiana cheerleaders lauded for EPIC recovery of stuck ball

Bennedict Mathurin: March Madness gets scandalous after Arizona player seen touching cheerleader's chest

"I actually sent an email trying to reach out to the cheerleader, through the TCU athletic department, I reached out to her and that is it," Mathurin told reporters at the press conference on Wednesday. "We have been in contact with the University of Arizona and received communication from their student-athlete,'' said TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati.

On Wednesday, Coach Tommy Lloyd said, "We were as surprised as anybody. I'm just going to refer to that statement from Dave about the situation." He claimed that he didn't know about the situation until the team returned home from San Diego. The cheerleader has not been publicly identified.

Though Mathurin's head was turned away from the cheerleader, people have been speculating whether it was intentional or not. One tweet said, "I can't tell if Benedict Mathurin touched her breast or not but if he did he should be thrown out of that school and put in jail. #wildcats." Another read, "Wtf? Seriously, what could Benedict Mathurin possibly be thinking here? @CBSSports @espn @SethDavisHoops." A third user felt, "Cancel Benedict Mathurin #ncaa."

One user wrote, "Thats blatant sexual harassment and the NCAA basketball committee should sanction and fine Benedict Mathurin for his behavior, maybe they do that in Canada where he comes from but not in the states !!" Another commented, "Benedict Mathurin definitely touched a cheerleaders breast on the way off the court. [facepalm emoji]." A third mentioned, "Benedict Mathurin needs to be investigated for assault. @MarchMadnessMBB."

A fourth replied, "This is the best view yet. From his position he clearly saw the girl and there was no one anywhere to high 5. It was intentional and calculated to look like an accident," while a fifth added, "It looked like he had his hands out giving a high five on the other side as well. Not an excuse he should have seen it was a cheerleader."

A sixth said, "There's no way y'all actually think Benedict Mathurin meant to touch that cheerleader."