MSU's Davis Apologizes For Inappropriate Comment to Official
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Former Michigan State basketball star Paul Davis screwed up big-time on Monday during the Spartans' game against USC.
Things had been moving along relatively smoothly during the Spartans' eventual 80-51 victory, but referee Jeffrey Anderson stopped the game mid-play to point out somebody in the crowd and have them removed. That person happened to be Davis. There are rumors out there about the thing he said to Anderson, but neither Tom Izzo nor Davis repeated it.
Whatever it was, it had to be something bad for an official to stop the game. Davis knew it in the moment, too, putting his hands to his chest in apology as he was escorted from his seat.
It would have been Davis to just sink away, back into private life, and just let this story blow over in a few days. That isn't what he did. Instead, Davis is doing his best to try and right the wrongs he made.
Davis's Words, Actions on Tuesday
One of the first things David did on Tuesday was call Izzo to apologize. Izzo estimated that the call happened at about 6:30 a.m., and he didn't have to be the one to reach out to Davis.
It was not the first apology Davis made on Tuesday. He also reached out to Anderson, the official he made his comment towards, to apologize, and he said that there are no hard feelings between them now. Davis even said he plans on hugging Anderson the next time he sees him.
"I want to first apologize to the officiating crew," Davis said. "I talked to Jeff Anderson this morning. Short conversation, but an amazing conversation. Amazing guy.
Additionally, Davis attended Tuesday's practice and apologized in front of the team. After that, he had an official press conference. From somebody who was just a few feet from him as he spoke, it was clear that Davis was, at the very least, quite nervous. It may partially be because of his 6-foot-11 frame, but the microphone attached to the lectern was shaking for a good portion of Davis's press conference that lasted approximately 10 minutes. More importantly, he seemed genuinely apologetic.
"Yesterday [Monday] shouldn't have happened, but today [Tuesday] should happen," Davis said. "I'm not up here to make any excuses. I'm up here to take accountability, to own it."
After all, whether Davis deserves the scrutiny or not, this has to be an extremely embarrassing day for him. One moment, he was enjoying another victory for his alma mater, thinking about something funny to say to the referee, and the next, he realized he had taken it too far, and now a game that's nationally televised is being stopped so he can leave. Oh, and his old coach is yelling at him from across the court.
Odd moment in Michigan State-USC. After being consulted by the referee, it appears Tom Izzo asks former Spartan, Paul Davis, to leave his seat. pic.twitter.com/rix9qIyEnd
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 6, 2026
Izzo said on Monday night that Davis's comment wasn't anything racist or sexist, but still something that nobody should ever say. The broadcast also caught Davis taking a sip of an alcoholic beverage right after the game was stopped. Perhaps Davis had had one too many of those. Does that excuse it? No, but almost every person on Earth has done something that they regret after having too much to drink. Every person has made a mistake before; most just don't have theirs broadcast so publicly.
A human perspective has to be taken here. Going off of Davis's account of Tuesday, it seems like Anderson has forgiven him, which means that it's probably best to now move on. He's also owning up to his mistake a lot more than most would. Davis said he plans on attending the Spartans' game against Northwestern on Thursday, which should help set the example that what happened on Monday was a one-off thing that won't happen again.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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