When the Alabama football offense took its first snap of the game against Mississippi State, Jermaine Burton was one of the starting receivers.
He’s been a starter for much of the season, but his playing status was in question heading into the game. Video surfaced this past week of Burton exiting the field against Tennessee a week prior as Tennessee fans rushed the field. The footage taken from the stands showed Burton making contact with a woman. She said in a caption on the TikTok video that he smacked her in the head.
Nick Saban decided not to suspend Burton, though. Saban said Wednesday that discipline would be handled internally. He was asked after No. 6 Alabama beat No. 24 Mississippi State 30-6 on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium why Saban chose to play Burton.
“I don’t know how many of you have ever been in a situation like that, but I talked to him,” Saban said. “He was scared. I was scared. Some of our other players were scared. I think you learn to respect other people because we have a responsibility to do that regardless of the circumstance that we’re in.”
“That’s not the problem,” Saban said. “That’s not the issue. But it’s about having the proper respect for other people. I didn’t think it was necessary to suspend the guy. If you knew the whole story, maybe you wouldn’t either. But I’m not going to divulge that.”
Burton caught two passes for 40 yards against the Bulldogs (5-3, 2-3 SEC) against the Crimson Tide.
