Arkansas Staffer Appears to Spike Kentucky Student Journalist’s Phone

After Arkansas lost to Texas A&M in the SEC tournament, an Arkansas assistant coach appeared to grab a student journalist’s phone and throw it to the ground. The coach appeared to be Riley Hall, Arkansas’s Director of Internal Operations.

The journalist, Jack Weaver of the University of Kentucky’s newspaper the Kentucky Kernel, said Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman was walking off the court furious and “in a rage of f-bombs” following the Razorbacks’ loss, right before Hall threw his phone to the ground.

In response, the Kentucky Kernel condemned the actions by the assistant coach.

“The Kentucky Kernel is appalled by the actions of the Arkansas men’s basketball program,” it said in a statement. “Jack Weaver always embodies professionalism on the job and no journalist, especially a student journalist, should be subjected to violence for simply doing their job.”

Weaver was covering Kentucky basketball, who played in the game following Arkansas’s loss, for the student newspaper.

On Saturday afternoon, Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek released a statement on the incident.

“I have visited with Riley Hall, a member of our men’s basketball support staff, and others who personally observed an interaction between Mr. Hall and a reporter following our game Friday night at the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament,” Yurachek wrote. “During our conversation, Mr. Hall expressed his regret that while leaving the floor his engagement inadvertently resulted in knocking the reporter’s cell phone from his hand. While, based on our discussion, I do not believe there was malicious intent, I have addressed the issue with Mr. Hall and he agrees his actions were not appropriate or reflective of our program. On behalf of Mr. Hall and our program, I want to offer an apology to the reporter impacted by these actions.”

The Razorbacks were outscored 42–23 by the Aggies in the second half to blow a double-digit lead. Arkansas basketball has yet to make a statement on the incident.

Arkansas finished the season with a 20–13 record and are currently a projected eight seed in the NCAA tournament.