Michigan did not want anybody to film a heated sideline exchange with Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith during Saturday’s college football game in Ann Arbor. A staffer slapped away a camera that was focused on the feisty exchange.
It all went down after the Buckeyes scored a touchdown during the third quarter and tied the rivalry game at 17-17. Trey Wallace was standing near the end zone, less than five feet away from Smith, and captured the whole thing on video.
The root cause of the argument is unclear. However, it seemed as though Smith may have stepped beyond his mandated boundary on the sideline, which led a nearby staffer to step in.
Whatever was said by the Michigan employee — who was wearing a maize beanie that read ‘EVENT (something)’ — it did not go over it well. Smith started chirping. He can be heard saying:
G-E-N-E Smith. What’s yours? What the f— is yours? What the f— is your name?!
— Gene Smith
Another man stepped in to try and deescalate the situation at that point. Smith continued to argue that he was “behind the yellow line” and repeatedly stated “don’t get me started.”
And then, out of nowhere, a third unseen member of the Michigan staff swiped at Wallace’s phone. Somebody overstepped!
Reporters are granted access to the field by nature of their business. Their job is to document everything that goes on at a specific game or event. Wallace was doing exactly what he was supposed to.
For someone to step in and slap his phone away is unacceptable. What were they trying to hide?
In an age where everything goes viral on social media, it would have been better for the Wolverines to provide context to the argument with Smith. Instead, they tried to minimize the amount of eyeballs.
Wallace later clarified that it was “just a heated moment.” Nothing further played out!