Arkansas director of athletics apologizes after staffer accused of throwing scholar reporter’s telephone

Arkansas Director of Athletics Hunter Yuracheck apologized Saturday to a scholar reporter who claimed he had his telephone thrown to the bottom after the Razorbacks’ loss to Texas A&M within the SEC males’s basketball match. 

Following a 67-61 loss on Friday, an Arkansas workers member approached a scholar reporter who was recording Eric Musselman’s departure from the ground and was accused of grabbing and throwing the telephone to the bottom. 

Arkansas Razorbacks head coach Eric Musselman coaches throughout an SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament recreation between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Arkansas Razorbacks on March 10, 2023 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Images)

Jack Weaver, a photojournalist and picture editor for the Kentucky Kernel, was filming the Arkansas head coach when a staffer appeared to seize his telephone. 

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“I’ve visited with Riley Hall, a member of our males’s basketball help workers, and others who personally noticed an interplay between Mr. Hall and a reporter following our recreation Friday evening on the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament,” Yuracheck stated in an announcement. 

“During our dialog, Mr. Hall expressed his remorse that whereas leaving the ground his engagement inadvertently resulted in knocking the reporter’s cellphone from his hand. While, primarily based on our dialogue, I don’t imagine there was malicious intent, I’ve addressed the difficulty with Mr. Hall and he agrees his actions weren’t acceptable or reflective of our program. On behalf our Mr. Hall and our program, I wish to provide an apology to the reporter impacted by these actions.”

The Arkansas Razorbacks brand on pair of shorts throughout the third place recreation of the Maui Jim Invitational faculty basketball Tournament towards the San Diego State Aztecs at Lahaina Civic Arena on Nov. 23, 2022 in Lahaina, Hawaii.   (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

After the video went viral Friday evening, the Kentucky Kernel, the student-run newspaper for the University of Kentucky, put out an announcement condemning the actions of the Arkansas workers member. 

“The Kentucky Kernel is appalled by the actions of the Arkansas mens basketball program,” the paper stated on Twitter. “[Jack Weaver] at all times embodies professionalism on the job and no journalist, particularly a scholar journalist, must be subjected to violence for merely doing their job.”

Arkansas was chosen as an eight seed within the NCAA Tournament. 

Arkansas Razorbacks guard Nick Smith Jr., #3, reacts to a name throughout an SEC Mens Basketball Tournament recreation between the Texas A&M Aggies and the Arkansas Razorbacks on March 10, 2023 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Bryan Lynn/Icon Sportswire by way of Getty Images)

The Razorbacks will play the Illinois Fighting Illini on Thursday within the first spherical of March Madness.