Texas A&M cuts ties with football assistant who hit opposing players

Texas A&M student assistant coach Mike Richardson was not allowed back on the sideline after halftime during Monday’s Liberty Bowl, in which the Aggies defeated West Virginia, 45-37.

Richardson was caught on camera appearing to intentionally strike two Mountaineer players on separate plays during the first half, shoving cornerback Daryl Worley in the back of the head and hitting running back Andrew Buie’s facemask with his elbow.

Buie had been dragged out of bounds while carrying the ball. Worley’s momentum while defending against an incomplete pass brought him onto the Aggies’ sideline.

Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin said he learned of the incidents at halftime and acted swiftly.

“That’s nothing we condone. There’s nothing about that whole situation that’s a part of who we are and what we believe in,” Sumlin said of Richardson’s actions. “As I said, he has already been sent home, and we’ll deal with that when we get back.”

Sumlin went on to dismiss Richardson as student assistant coach on Tuesday.

“I am extremely disappointed and embarrassed, as his behavior reflected badly on our program,” Sumlin said in a statement, in which he also appologized to the players and coaches involved, as well as the fan bases of both teams.

Worley had some strong words for Richardson via Twitter on Monday: “to the A&M coach, assistant, trainer whatever you wanna call yaself that punched me in the head.. just know ima see you again in life!”

But Worley seemed to have cooled off by Tuesday morning, when he tweeted out this message: “I just pray that this incident will raise more NCAA sideline rules to prevent an incident like this from happening again, but to categorize me or Mr. Richardson as ‘thugs’ is uncalled for. It was both of us acting in the heat of the moment and I have no hard feelings against him.”

Richardson signed with the Aggies as a linebacker in 2012. He suffered a career-ending neck injury in November of that year and has been a student assistant coach for the team ever since.

Twitter: @chewkiii