College football news: Texas A&M urged SEC to punish Nick Saban after NIL comments
The furor over Nick Saban's comments regarding Texas A&M and its recruiting class extended well past Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher and his now-famous rant.
It also included Texas A&M itself, which directly intervened to the SEC, asking commissioner Greg Sankey to suspend and fine the Alabama coach.
Athletic director Ross Bjork and school president Katherine Banks sent a strongly worded email to SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey to that effect.
A&M wanted "strong, public action"
"Coach Saban's statement is false, beneath the dignity of the SEC, and corrosive to the fabric of sportsmanship in college football as a whole and especially within the SEC," the email said, according to On3 Sports.
"We expect the league to take strong, public action against Coach Saban and the University of Alabama to demonstrate that such unprofessionalism and disrespect for Texas A&M's student-athletes, coaches, and the university as a whole, will not be tolerated.
"A public apology from Coach Saban to Coach Fisher, Aggie Football, and Texas A&M University is a good starting point, but the league should also consider monetary and participation penalties against Coach Saban."
A&M: Nick Saban broke SEC rules
Saban told a group of Birmingham area business leaders that Texas A&M "bought every player on their team," referring to the new NIL rules.
Those remarks broke SEC rules, according to Texas A&M.
"Coach Saban's statement was a blatant violation of SEC bylaws regarding sportsmanship," the email read.
"More significantly, without citing any facts to support his statement, Coach Saban is accusing every, single player in Texas A&M's recruiting class and current football team of violating NCAA name, image and likeness (NIL) guidelines and Texas state law."
In response, the SEC reprimanded both Saban and Fisher, saying the coaches violated SEC bylaws on "ethical conduct for derogatory comments and public criticism of another institution's athletics program and staff."
That appears to be as far as the SEC wants this to go.
All in all, just another bit of fuel on the fire for when Texas A&M visits Alabama on Oct. 8 in what will be one of the most impactful games on the college football schedule.
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