CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Baker Mayfield hopes the NCAA doesn’t ban flag planting.

Mayfield, who gained notoriety when he ran onto the field and planted an Oklahoma flag in the middle of the field at Ohio State Stadium after a Sooners victory in 2017, said the altercations Saturday that followed similar incidents of flag planting. across the country are just one part of college football’s rivalries.

“I will say this: OU-Texas does it every time they play,” Mayfield said after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a 26-23 overtime victory against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday. “It’s nothing special. You take your “L” and move on. I’ll leave it there.

On Sunday, the Big Ten Conference fined Michigan and Ohio State $100,000 each for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy for the field scrum at the end of the victory of the Wolverines in Columbus, Ohio.

Wolverine players attempted to plant the Michigan flag on the OSU logo at midfield and were quickly confronted by Buckeyes players.

A fight breaks out between the teams. Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer grabbed the top of the Wolverines’ flag and ripped it off the post, and players were shoving and hitting each other.

Police used pepper spray to break up the altercation. A police union official said a police officer suffered a head injury when he was “knocked over and trampled while trying to separate the fighting players.”

The officer was treated in hospital and released.

Similar scenes played out in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, after at least one North Carolina State player attempted to plant a Wolfpack flag on UNC field following a 35-30 victory. And there was a fight in Tallahassee, Fla., after Gators edge rusher George Gumbs Jr. planted a flag on the Florida State logo after a 31-11 victory.

When asked if the NCAA should ban the planting of flags, Mayfield responded: “ College football is supposed to have rivalries. It’s like the Big 12 banned the “Horns down” signal.

He added: “Let the boys play. »

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