Via @salamitheaggie TikTok/@aggiefootball TikTok
A Texas A&M student says he was targeted by a communications staff member after getting a field pass to watch the game. Here's the situation.
A popular content creator scored a field pass at a Texas A&M football game after months of requests. But his excitement quickly soured after he says he was targeted on the field.
Malik Salami is known online as Gig ‘em Salami (@salamitheaggie) and has over 30,000 followers. In a video that received more than 810,000 views, he says he was “harassed” at a Texas A&M football game by a university staff member.
He says a member of the university’s communications staff questioned why he was on the field, asked who gave him his field pass, and tried to escalate the situation to other staff members.
A Texas A&M Athletics spokesman told BroBible that while Salami had a field pass, “it was not originally issued to him” but that Salami was allowed to remain on the field for the entire game.
Salami Secures A Field Pass
Salami, who makes a wide range of content about A&M, says that he’s requested a number of field passes. He says a person with connections in the Aggie network gave him one. In his video, he says the pass allowed him to walk on the field during the Oct. 3 game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Aggies.
His experience was extremely positive at first. “ From the first half, we got on the field, immediately showed love by everybody. The 12th man, people on the field, the … players, literally just everybody was showing love,” he says.
Confronted On The Field
But Salami says that changed in the second half. According to him, a communications staff member approached him and his cameraman.
“This lady comes up to us, and she approaches us, and she’s like, ‘Hi, um, how are you on the field?’” he says. “Immediately off that tone, I’m already like, ‘Why are you targeting me out of everybody else on the field? Are you the person that knows everybody on the field?’”
Salami says she questioned who gave him the pass to go on the field.
“’I personally denied you from getting on the field back then when you asked,’” Salami claims she said.
‘It Really Took A Toll On My Mental’
Salami claims the communications staff member repeatedly asked him how he acquired the field pass. “’You don’t gotta tell me anyway. I can look at the numbers on your pass and find out who gave it to you,’” Salami recalls her saying.
Salami says she left to speak to others in the coaches’ area, presumably about his presence on the field.
“It really took a toll on my mental. It was humiliating … demeaning, … degrading,” he says. “Felt like I didn’t belong there, and that’s the first time I ever felt like that.”
In Salami’s post, he plays a video of the staff member speaking to other people on the field. In his clip, he says, “She’s just trying to call out people. Yeah. [She’s] trying to tell people he’s not gonna be on the field.”
Viewers Discuss The Incident
Multiple viewers questioned why the communications staff member asked Salami about his pass in the first place.
“If you got a pass, why tf does it matter? That’s lame,” a commenter said.
Another viewer added, “Why does she care so much?”
A third asked, “If you have a pass, and you respect [the] players and the field and aren’t doing anything bad, [what’s] the problem?”
Texas A&M Responds
A Texas A&M Athletics spokesman told BroBible, “Mr. Salami is a valued member of the Texas A&M community, and we are sorry that he felt disrespected. We strive to ensure everyone feels welcome at our athletic venues. It is not uncommon for members of our security or media relations teams to check credentials at various points during a game. While Mr. Salami did have a credential, it was not originally issued to him. However, Mr. Salami was permitted to remain on the field for the duration of the game.”
The Texas A&M Athletics spokesman also stated that the athletics department reached out to Salami regarding the situation.
Other Incidents Go Viral
Salami, however, isn’t the only person to have issues receiving or using field passes or other access to special privileges. Not Joe (@notjoebonham), for instance, says he had a near-identical encounter with the same communications staff member as Salami. In the wake of Salami’s video, other content creators have also shared footage of the communications staff member speaking to ESPN. Viewers overwhelmingly said the interaction between said staff member and ESPN looked negative.
Salami reiterated that he’s had nothing but positive experiences at Texas A&M prior to his experience on the field. But some commenters said that his experience was part of a broader issue at Texas A&M.
“I’m so sorry! I’m from [the] College Station area, born and raised … That’s just how this area is, and it’s so sad,” a viewer said.
@salamitheaggie Some people hate to see a young Aggie succeed #tamu
BroBible reached out to both Salami and the communications staff member involved in the incident via email for comment.