Nate Oats won't win any sportsmanship awards for this.
The Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball coach shoved an opposing player during the first half of Tuesday's 93-75 win over the Missouri Tigers in Tuscaloosa.
This amazing incident happened right in front of the referee, but perhaps even more amazingly, Oats was not charged with any foul.
It all started when former Hofstra star and Crimson Tide guard Aaron Estrada and Missouri's Anthony Robinson II fought for a rebound after a Tigers miss and before the whistle.
From there, Estrada and Tigers forward Aidan Shaw started meshing with each other.
But before things could escalate, Oats got in between them and pushed Shaw's chest with his right hand, pushing the Missouri player aside.
Oates was then seen telling Shaw to return to the bench.
Although the Alabama coach's actions in touching an opposing player in the presence of at least one official did not result in a foul being called, Estrada did not receive a foul after this bizarre sequence of events. Ta.
One of the referees grabbed Oates to prevent him from escalating the situation further.
The altercation led to a very strong reaction from fans on social media, with University of Alabama fans appearing to enjoy Oats' actions, while other college basketball fans were less impressed with Oats' actions. Ta.
“Nate Oats is a clown. I've never seen a coach allowed to push an opposing player before.” A user from X wrote:
“Nate Oates is a thug.” written by another person.
“I was shocked that Nate Oats handled a difficult situation so poorly. He has always shown good judgment.” A third person called out.
Alabama started the season 12-5 and is currently on a six-game winning streak.
