The college football game between Central State and Fort Valley State ended with an ugly brawl. New details seem to indicate that it stemmed from a lack of decorum by the former, rather than a culture issue with the latter.
Regardless of who is to blame, this latest dust-up has nothing to do with any other ongoing scandals.
There is a distinct disassociation between what did happen on the college football field and what didn’t happen in the stands. The marching band was notably absent for a reason.
Fort Valley State is dealing with a marching band scandal.
Before we discuss the brawl, we must first discuss the band. These two things are not related.
Fort Valley State directed the Blue Machine Marching Band to suspend all activity on Sept. 25 due to allegations of hazing. The directive was announced less than 10 days before Homecoming, which is the biggest game and weekend of the year for HBCU programs. It did not perform on Sept. 27.
Findings of the initial police investigation were announced a few days later, last Thursday. Local authorities found evidence that supported the charge of hazing and made arrests accordingly.
However, Fort Valley is still working on its own internal investigation. As a result, the Blue Machine also did not perform at Homecoming on Saturday. Bummer.
The college football brawl is a separate incident.
The Homecoming weekend unfortunately turned ugly after the Marauders upset the Wildcats. Players on both teams exchanged blows during a postgame brawl.
It started with some pushing. It very quickly escalated from there.
Fort Valley State and Central State football teams got into a massive brawl at the conclusion of Fort Valley’s homecoming loss: pic.twitter.com/IfjYkarhBD
— Kalan Hooks (@KalanHookstv) October 4, 2025
Coaches and security were eventually able to step in to restore order as the melee moved toward midfield. No additional penalties or suspensions have been announced as of this moment.
Due to the ongoing incident with the Blue Machine Marching Band, many college football fans pointed to the brawl as a culture issue at Fort Valley State. Those assumptions are not fair.
Central State seems to be the instigator.
Although Fort Valley and Central State both deserve blame for what happened, the heightened tension between the two sides seemed to stem from behavior of the visitors. The contentiousness was exacerbated by the Marauders, who frequently acted up throughout the game.
I don’t really understand why the Wildcats were not located on the home sideline of their home field for their Homecoming game but it created a hostile environment. For example:
This was not the only instance. Central State frequently turned back to taunt the Fort Valley crowd.
A police officer eventually asked the coaching staff to get their players in order and they listened but that was the pretext of the brawl. The antagonism was palpable. The brawl stemmed from all of the heated moments throughout the game. Both sides must be held accountable.
UPDATE: Twenty players in total were suspended: nine players from Fort Valley State and 11 players from Central State. Both head coaches received a one-game suspension.
But with that being said — to link the fight to the band and its hazing would be unfair and untrue. It was two separate incidents.