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Big Ten fines Michigan State, reprimands Dantonio, Harbaugh, Bush

October 24, 2018
The Spartans celebrate after recovering a fumble during the game against Michigan on Oct. 20, 2018 at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans lost to the Wolverines 21-7.
The Spartans celebrate after recovering a fumble during the game against Michigan on Oct. 20, 2018 at Spartan Stadium. The Spartans lost to the Wolverines 21-7. —
Photo by CJ Weiss | The State News

The Big Ten announced Wednesday evening it issued a $10,000 fine to Michigan State for the football team violating the Big Ten Sportsmanship Policy in the pregame walk incident before the Spartans' 21-7 loss to No. 5 Michigan, along with reprimanding the football team, coach Mark Dantonio, Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh and linebacker Devin Bush.

League officials said MSU violated the sportsmanship policy when it "walked across the field with linked arms and initiated contact with multiple members of Michigan’s team who were legitimately on the field during pregame warmups."

Dantonio was reprimanded "for failing to take action to mitigate a foreseeable conflict from occurring," while Harbaugh was reprimanded for his comments made about the incident and MSU postgame Saturday and during his weekly news conference Monday. 

Linebacker Devin Bush was reprimanded "for his conduct" in the incident, which included ripping up the turf on the Spartan logo at midfield in Spartan Stadium. 

The Big Ten said in a statement it "considers the matter concluded and will have no further comment."

“We are fortunate the series of events that occurred prior to the Michigan-Michigan State game did not escalate into a much more serious matter,” Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in the statement.  “While traditions hold great importance on our campuses, traditions do not supersede the values of good sportsmanship or the requirement for player safety.  We expect more from our coaches, students and administrators and will continue to work with our institutions to prioritize good sportsmanship moving forward.”

The Spartans will play Purdue (4-3, 3-1) at noon Saturday at Spartan Stadium on ESPN, while the Wolverines will enjoy a bye week.

Dantonio and Michigan State Athletic Communications did not respond for comment at the time this article was published.

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