March 19, 2026
The lawsuit follows a controversial handcuffing incident involving Benjy Taylor.
Tuskegee men’s basketball coach Benjy Taylor is expected to file a lawsuit this week against Morehouse College campus police officers after he was handcuffed and removed from the court during a game earlier this year.
Taylor will meet with his legal team in Atlanta on March 20 to officially announce the filing. The lawsuit targets Morehouse College and campus police officers R. Clark and M. Roberson.
The incident occurred in a Jan. 31 Division II game between Tuskegee and Morehouse in Atlanta. Observers recorded the event, which quickly went viral on social media and sparked nationwide backlash.
“I am at a loss for words, and I am upset about how I was violated and treated today,” Taylor said at the time in a statement obtained by Sports Illustrated. “For my players, my family and people of Tuskegee to witness that is heartbreaking for me. I was simply trying to get the football team out of the handshake line as they were following right behind me and the team yelling obscenities! It was a very dangerous situation.”
According to Taylor’s attorneys, the coach approached officers after noticing what he believed was a potentially unsafe situation during the postgame handshake line. A group of Morehouse football players had entered the court and were interacting with players and family members, which attorneys say violates conference security rules.
Taylor asked officers to help clear the court and enforce the rules, but instead, one officer handcuffed him and took him away. Authorities did not charge Taylor with any crimes.Â
The lawsuit will be led by a team of civil rights attorneys, including Harry Daniels and John Burris, along with attorneys Gerald Griggs and Gregory Reynald Williams.
The SIAC fined Morehouse College an undisclosed amount for its role in the incident. Morehouse College President F. DuBois issued a statement that seemed to disagree with SIAC’s decision.Â
“While Morehouse leadership and I take the SIAC’s findings seriously, we have questions about an investigation that did not include a request for the College’s input but ultimately determined responsibility and a fine,” Morehouse College President, Dr. F. DuBois Bowman, said the statement obtained by HBCU Legends. “This falls short of the due diligence expected of a fair and comprehensive process, and we are engaging directly with the SIAC to reconsider, given the precedent such decisions set for all SIAC institutions.”
Brown also noted that Morehouse issued an apology to Taylor the night after the incident.
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