Tuskegee coach Benjy Taylor to sue Morehouse, campus police officers after being handcuffed after game
Tuskegee men's basketball coach Benjy Taylor is expected to announce a lawsuit Friday against Morehouse College and two campus police officers after he was handcuffed and escorted off the court following a game earlier this year.
Taylor, who has coached at Tuskegee University since 2019, will join his legal team at an 11 a.m. news conference at a hotel near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to formally announce the filing.
The lawsuit targets Morehouse College and campus police officers identified as R. Clark and M. Roberson.
The incident happened Jan. 31 after a Division II HBCU matchup between Tuskegee and Morehouse in Atlanta. Video of the moment quickly spread online, drawing national attention.
According to Taylor's attorneys, the coach approached officers after noticing what he believed was a tense and potentially unsafe situation during the postgame handshake line. A group of Morehouse football players had entered the court and were interacting with players and family members, something attorneys say violates conference security rules.
Taylor asked officers to help clear the court and enforce those protocols, but instead, one of the officers placed him in handcuffs and escorted him away. Taylor was not charged with any crime.
The lawsuit will be led by a team of high-profile civil rights attorneys, including Harry Daniels and John Burris, along with attorneys Gerald Griggs and Gregory Reynald Williams.
Daniels, who has represented several nationally known clients, said the treatment of Taylor was unjustified.
"It would be bad for a police officer to treat anyone like this," Daniels said in a statement. "But to do it to a man like Coach Taylor … to put him in handcuffs and treat him like a criminal … is absolutely disgusting."
Taylor, a father of four and grandfather of five, has more than three decades of coaching experience. His attorneys argue he was attempting to de-escalate a situation and protect his players when the encounter escalated.
