Kentucky player hits South Carolina fan with football, no penalty called

In Saturday night's barnburner at Williams-Brice Stadium, Kentucky sophomore RB Seth McGowan took one touchdown celebration too far. After scoring, McGowan appeared to throw the football as hard as he could into the stands, pegging a South Carolina fan. The fan who was hit was in a wheelchair and needed medical attention shortly after. Fans on X/Twitter were outraged by the incident.

Remarkably, there was no flag thrown. Officials appeared to shrug off the incident, drawing even more attention, underscoring glaring officiating blind spots that have been an ongoing issue in college football.

The episode raises ugly questions about sportsmanship and conduct in the game as well. Instead of the usual grace of simply making the play and moving on in the game, McGowan's act looked more like retaliatory roughhousing. Critics are asking whether the college refs' oversight board should consider reviewing the play, raising questions about the guidelines on on-field interactions with the fans. Tonight's bizarre non-call will hang over this SEC duel, no doubt. It was a needless sideshow that reminds us how quickly a celebratory moment can become a scandal. And the bitter taste of this unsportsmanlike conduct will linger beyond the scoreboard.