University of Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke weighed in Wednesday on a video that emerged on social media appearing to show Arizona basketball star Bennedict Mathurin touching a Texas Christian University cheerleader after Sunday's NCAA tournament game between the schools.
"Shortly after returning to Tucson, I was notified that people on social media were claiming a video clip showed Bennedict Mathurin may have made physical contact with a TCU student while walking off the court," Heeke said in a statement, as reported by the Arizona Republic. "I have reached out to TCU’s Athletics Department and I spoke with Bennedict. While he does not recall any contact, he has attempted to reach out to the TCU student through their Athletic Department to apologize."
The video shows Mathurin stopping and looking up toward the stands after Arizona's 85-80 overtime win at Viejas Arena in San Diego during the tournament round of 32..
After bowing, Mathurin rises up with his arms spread fully apart. As he turns toward the tunnel, he appears to be looking in the opposite direction with his arms still outstretched when his left hand goes near the woman's chest, though it is unclear if there is any contact, according to the Republic's Jeremy Cluff.
The cheerleader, a member of the TCU Showgirls cheer and dance team, remained still and had no visible reaction in the short clip, Cluff added.
Another angle of the video from the stands surfaced online an appears to indicate no contact between Mathurin and the woman.
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati confirmed to Sports Illustrated that Mathurin had contacted the TCU athletic department to apologize.
“We have been in contact with the University of Arizona and received communication from their student-athlete,” Donati said.
Mathurin was the game's high-scorer with 30 points in 41 minutes.
