Former Houston Assistant Coach Escorted Out by Police After Heated Ejection

The Houston Cougars basketball program has done an exceptional job under head coach Kelvin Sampson, and a huge reason for that is the support staff and assistant coaches.

One impactful member of the 2024-25 Houston basketball team was associate head coach Quannas White. Known as Coach Q, he was a critical part of the Cougars coaching staff and someone who spent a lot of time with the players.

White goes way back with Sampson, as he played for him for two seasons in Oklahoma from 2001-2003. That also included a run to the Final Four in 2002. Right after that, he joined Sampson’s staff as a graduate assistant for the Sooners from 2003-04. White joined Houston as an assistant coach in 2017 before getting promoted to associate head coach in 2023.

After a historic 2024-25 season, White moved on from Houston to take the next step of his career as the head coach of Louisiana. This was a big move for the New Orleans native, and it was well received on both sides. It’s been a rough season for the Ragin’ Cajuns with a 1-11 record, injuries, and not much support at all compared to what White had at Houston.

It all reached a breaking point on December 18.

White’s Wild Ejection

Houston Cougars assistant coach Quannas White reacts on the sideline during the first half against the South Carolina Gamecocks at Fertitta Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

While facing Southern Miss on the road, White got quite upset after what he believed was a no-call against his team. As most coaches would do, he let the referees know. However, he got in the officials’ face and was ejected from the game. This story so far is familiar with basketball fans.

White slowly but surely was making his way off the court, while his assistants tried to control and calm him down. He kept turning around and continuously was trying to make his point known.

The police then got involved. Not in a required observation role, but it was hands-on. The police and security at Southern Miss got their hands on White and physically tried to take him off the court.

Take a look at the video:

Louisiana Head Coach Quannas White was ejected after getting in an officials face after a no-call.

What followed was an escort out of the arena by the police. pic.twitter.com/EddVW1NQZF
— Dima Mixon (@dima_mixon) December 19, 2025

Multiple police officers began to let White know that he needed to get out while putting their hands on him. White clearly got the message and was much more calm after that. Both stadium security and the police eventually escorted him all the way off the court and into the tunnel. White turned around one more time and the security came running back towards him.

This has gone viral and generated mixed reactions across the board.

Pretty reprehensible how former University of Houston assistant Quannas White is treated by police and arena security at Southern Mississippi on getting ejected. No excuse for putting their hands on him. Coaches are always allowed to yell a little more and make their point while… https://t.co/ISn1IpjRih
— Chris Baldwin (@ChrisYBaldwin) December 19, 2025

While most people believed this was too extreme of a reaction by the police, others said it was needed and White was doing too much.

Since when do cops rush the court to escort a coach who was ejected out?
Not sure he can put his hands on the coach. Coaches get in the faces of refs and officials all the time.
— Jeff Christian (@cjchristian00) December 19, 2025

34-10 free throw differential in a conference game is absurd the refs gotta be better I don’t see anything else but a coach sticking up for his players tired of his players getting put through the damn court and not get a foul call ‼️‼️‼️‼️that’s terrible refereeing
— LongLiveDolph 🐬 (@BlowBy5) December 19, 2025

One thing is for certain, that this was one of the more crazy ejections of the year. Houston fans will continue to keep an eye out on the rebuild in Louisiana under a special former member of the Cougars.