Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher is looking into an altercation between staff members from A&M and LSU after Saturday’s game at Kyle Field.
Shortly after No. 22 A&M’s 74-72 victory over No.7 LSU, an altercation between four staff members, two from each sideline, sparked questions from fans and the media about what exactly occurred and who was involved. As pictures of the fight started to appear online, stories began to be revealed and those involved were identified.
LSU analyst Steve Kragthorpe was one of the four staff members involved. Kragthorpe told Glen Guilbeau of Gannett Louisiana that the altercation started when he was punched in his pacemaker by an A&M staff member, who is now being identified as football student manager Cole Fisher.
“I didn’t appreciate getting punched in my pacemaker,” Kragthorpe told The Daily Advertiser, a newspaper in Lafayette, Louisiana. “I’m not feeling good right now. I have no idea who the guy is. But he was wearing an A&M shirt, and I think I saw him signaling during the game. He was credentialed, so A&M should know who he is.”
In a video posted on Twitter on Monday by Houston Chronicle writer Brent Zwerneman, Cole Fisher is seen pushing Kragthorpe, as opposed to the punch that was described by Kragthorpe.
Is this Steve Kragthorpe making beeline toward Dameyune Craig/Cole Fisher (Fisher in red shirt)? If so, looks like nothing more than a shove from Cole Fisher in response. Plenty to be figured out here, surely someone on east side (closer) was videoing:https://t.co/Z4rrho9AB0
— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) November 26, 2018
During the post-game press conference, Jimbo Fisher said he had no knowledge of the altercation. In a statement on Monday he said he has been working with the Texas A&M administration, LSU and the SEC office to further investigate the incident by examining videos and “statements from relevant parties.”
“I want to assure everyone that the matter has been addressed internally with my staff members, and we will continue to demand that our program conduct itself in a manner that meets the values and expectations of this great university,” Fisher said. “We look forward to continuing our season at a bowl destination.”
Kragthorpe, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2011, is known to be free of injury following the altercation. According to The Advocate, a newspaper based in Baton Rouge, Kragthorpe was also in an argument with A&M wide receiver coach Dameyune Craig after he saw Craig yelling at the LSU coaching staff. It is unknown whether the alleged punch by Cole Fisher was because of the argument with Craig or a separate event.
“I went up to Dameyune and said, ‘Hey, Dameyune get out of here. You won. You don’t need to be doing that. Move along.’ And that’s when I got hit. I mean, I got nailed,” Kragthorpe told The Daily Advertiser.
Immediately following the Cole Fisher-Kragthorpe incident, Cole Fisher and LSU director of player personnel Kevin Faulk got physical before being seperated by other staff members and players on the field.
In two seperate videos provided by Zwerneman and executive editor for TexAgs Billy Lucci on Twitter, LSU safety John Battle is seen trying to break up the fight between Cole Fisher and Faulk before punching Fisher moments later.
Here is LSU safety John Battle punching Cole Fisher, while Fisher and LSU staffer Kevin Faulk trade blows following Cole Fisher shoving Steve Kragthorpe: pic.twitter.com/LmJirD7POY
— Brent Zwerneman (@BrentZwerneman) November 27, 2018
More footage from Saturday night’s post-game melee shows LSU DB John Battle entering the fray with the blindside shot pic.twitter.com/qc1kr3jIeg
— Billy Liucci (@billyliucci) November 27, 2018
A&M athletics has not confirmed or denied the identity of Cole Fisher.
