February 2, 2026
Benjy Taylor was not charged with any crime, and released
After the Tuskegee University basketball team lost to Morehouse College, 77-69, police officers handcuffed Tuskegee coach Benjy Taylor as the players were leaving the court after the customary handshake between teams. The coach is now exploring “all legal avenues” in a potential civil lawsuit.
According to CBS News, Taylor was handcuffed and removed from the Morehouse gym immediately after the game. A video captured the police officer approaching Taylor on the basketball court, and after an exchange of words, he is seen placing his hands behind his back, and the officer places handcuffs on the coach.
Taylor was not charged with any crime, was released, and was allowed to leave with his team.
In the video, he is seen pointing behind his team’s bench as he speaks to the officers. Taylor’s attorneys stated that Morehouse football players were intermingling with the basketball players on the court. In Taylor’s eyes, that could have been an issue. He asked the officers to enforce conference-mandated security protocols. It’s unclear why the officer handcuffed the Tuskegee coach.
“It would be bad for a police officer to treat anyone like this,” said Harry Daniels, one of Taylor’s attorneys, in a written statement. “But to do it to a man like Coach Taylor, a highly respected professional and role model, to put him in handcuffs, humiliate him and treat him like a criminal in front of his team, his family and a gym full of fans is absolutely disgusting and they need to be held accountable.
“Coach Taylor is a good man who did the right thing to protect his team and deescalate a dangerous situation, and this officer put him in chains for his troubles,” Daniels added.
Taylor, a head coach at Tuskegee for 35 years, was taken into what was labeled the “Weightroom,” according to attorneys who say they have videos showing the coach being taken into the room. They also say that, while in the hallway outside the gym, Taylor was talking to someone who said the police officer was allegedly interacting with the football players during the basketball game.
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