Auburn softball player Haley Fagan goes after Florida Coach Tim Walton following shove in handshake line
Auburn shortstop Haley Fagan had to be restrained by teammates after getting pushed by Florida Coach Tim Walton during postgame handshakes Monday.
Following her team’s 1-0 victory over the Gators, Fagan was participating in the traditional handshake line with the opposing squad but lowered her hand when she reached Walton.
The coach left his hand up and appeared to give Fagan a shove in the shoulder as he walked past. The redshirt senior turned and pushed Walton in the back before being pulled away by teammates.
Several seconds later, Fagan had to be restrained again after attempting to go back after Walton in a more physical manner.
Walton issued an apology through Florida on Tuesday morning.
“I apologize to Haley,” he stated. “I just wanted to congratulate Auburn on the win -- it was a good series.
“My intent was to give a high-five to each opposing player as we do after every game. Apparently, her hand wasn’t up as I said ‘good game’ and I touched her shoulder. I should have paid closer attention and did not intend to upset her. I regret that this has taken attention away from the effort and sportsmanship both teams displayed all weekend.”
Fagan’s sisters, Kasey and Sami Fagan, played softball at Florida but were among three players dismissed from the team by Walton before the 2012 NCAA tournament because of “an altercation on the team,” according to the sisters’ father, Kevin Fagan.
Haley Fagan is a redshirt senior who has started every game at shortstop this season and is batting .377 with a .672 slugging percentage, according to the Auburn website. Kasey Fagan is a graduate assistant with the team.
Walton has led the Gators into the NCAA tournament every year since taking over the team in 2006, including seven College World Series appearances and two national championships. Florida is the top-ranked team in the country.
Twitter: @chewkiii
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UPDATES:
8:40 a.m.: This article has been updated to include a statement by Tim Walton.
This article was originally published at 7:50 a.m.
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