Being on the losing end of a rivalry game, particularly one with stakes on the line is a tough pill to swallow.
That’s the position Grambling State found themselves in after losing in the Bayou Classic, 30-28 to Southern on a blocked field goal in the final seconds of regulation.
Gone was the opportunity to win the SWAC West, appear in the conference championship game and a shot to play in the Celebration Bowl.
That all went out of the window when Miguel Mendez’s field goal attempt met the hand of Joe Davis.
Following the postgame bedlam that ensued, members of the media waited to conduct postgame interviews before being told Grambling head coach Broderick Fobbs, nor his players, would be made available, per News-Star reporter Cory Diaz.
OK…. So we’re not going to talk to Fobbs or any Grambling State players in postgame tonight because the team has already gotten on the bus… Apparently no one told them they were needed in postgame… This is ridiculous.
— Cory Diaz (@CoryDiaz_TNS) December 1, 2019
Maybe there was not a mandated media obligation for players and coaches, though Southern players and head coach Dawson Odums did speak to the press following the game, which makes Grambling being a no-show even more bizarre.
It quite frankly it’s a bad look for Grambling, Fobbs, the SWAC and the Bayou Classic that the Tigers did not provide comments following the biggest game of the season to date.
We understand losing a game of this magnitude — and the way it happened in Grambling’s case — hurts. However, players (not all of them, of course) and coaches have an obligation to not avoid the responsibility of talking to the media.
Maybe we will learn the reasons why Grambling did not speak Saturday night. Or maybe, as evidenced by the actions of the team after the Bayou Classic, no explanation will likely be given.
