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| Sunday, December 31 No arrests made in UF, Miami incidents Associated Press | |||
| NEW ORLEANS -- Florida and Miami couldn't wait to resume
hostilities in a rivalry that has been on hold for 13 seasons.
A handful of Gators and Hurricanes were involved in a scuffle on
Bourbon Street on Wednesday, the first night both teams were in
town to prepare for the Sugar Bowl.
"I guess by last night's events, the rivalry is back, sort of
to where it used to be," Florida coach Steve Spurrier said
Thursday.
Two Gators were handcuffed, taken to the police station and
questioned for about 30 minutes, but no arrests were made and
police didn't file a report.
How the fight started and the number of people involved varied
depending on whose version was told. An eyewitness account by
Orlando Sentinel reporter Joe Schad said as many as 40 players were
involved. A statement from police said it was between 10 and 15.
Coaches, players and police all seemed to agree the fight was
minor. No disciplinary action was taken and, other than a scrape
under the left eye of Florida defensive end Alex Brown, no visible
injuries were noted.
"It was a bunch of trash talking, we just didn't have the pads
on," Florida offensive lineman Kenyatta Walker said.
The fight might have rekindled a flame that seemed to go out when
Florida took Miami off its schedule after the 1987 season. Few of
the current players viewed this rivalry as a blood feud. Suddenly,
they might have new reason to get fired up.
"It's a bitter rivalry now," Florida linebacker Travis Carroll
said. "This just heats it up a bit."
Brown, Reche Caldwell, Gerard Warren, Jabar Gaffney and Andra
Davis were among the Florida players involved, according to the
Sentinel.
Reporter Brian London from WQAM radio in Miami, the flagship
station for the Hurricanes, witnessed the verbal confrontation that
led to the fight a few minutes later. London said Miami players
involved in the shouting included Al Blades, James Lewis, Troy
Prasek, Jarvis Gray and Jim Wilson.
"I heard it was a verbal altercation and they did what police
asked them to do, which was to walk away from it," Miami coach
Butch Davis said. "Our players were very, very proactive in getting
out of there, getting to the team hotel. I'm proud of our team."
Warren and another Gators player, not identified by New Orleans
police, were taken to the police station for questioning. Warren
declined comment. Spurrier said he wouldn't be so quick to condemn
his star defensive lineman.
"You could say it's troubling, or you could say he jumped in
there while one guy was getting clobbered by six or seven of
them," Spurrier said. "That's the story we got. You've got to get
a guy who wasn't a Gator or a Hurricane to tell you what happened.
All we can do is say what we know. I'm sure they have their side of
the story."
Davis said there was no reason to discipline his players.
Spurrier doesn't plan on punishing his players unless he gets solid
information that shows one of them did wrong.
New Orleans police confirmed a fight broke out on Bourbon Street
around 11:15 p.m. and involved several individuals. When police
responded, a number of people fled.
No injuries were reported and nobody filed a complaint, so
police say there was no reason to file any paperwork.
"We don't document every fight that occurs on Bourbon Street,"
police spokesman Sgt. Paul Accardo said. "Particularly when there
were no injuries and no one's coming forward claiming to be a
victim of anything."
The Sentinel reported the confrontation began when a Miami
player poured a drink over Caldwell's head, then escalated when
several Hurricanes started yelling at Gaffney.
Gators linebacker Andra Davis accused Blades of starting the
fight.
"We tried to avoid them the whole time," Davis said. "You can
only take it so far. They pushed us in a corner and we had to get
out of there."
Butch Davis tried to keep Miami players off limits after
practice Thursday, although Blades did field a question about his
role in the fight.
"I have no comment," Blades said. "They can say whatever they
want to say."
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