It's been four days now since Marcus Smartgot tangled up with a Texas Tech fan named Jeff Orr at the end of a game, and we're still not really clear on what Orr said to Smart that resulted in the Oklahoma State star pushing him. Orr claims he called Smart a "piece of crap," while others believe that he may have used a racial slur (Orr strongly denies that allegation). But both Smart and his coach Travis Ford have refused to elaborate on what was said prior to Smart pushing Orr. So we're still not 100 percent sure what set Smart off.
But one key witness just stepped up and said that Orr did aim a racial slur at Smart. Or at least, he claims that that's what Smart told his coach shortly after the shove heard 'round the college basketball world. That witness is Oklahoma State radio analyst John Holcomb, who was sitting courtside at the Oklahoma State/Texas Tech game and said that he saw Smart say, "Coach, he called me a nigger," after he pushed Orr.
"As I told my play-by-play partner Dave Hunziker, 'Dave, it was so plain,'" Holcomb told Newsweek. "That was a can't-miss thing for me."
So then, why isn't Smart fighting the three-game suspension that was given to him? And why did he publicly apologize to Orr? Holcomb isn't sure. Neither are lots of other people. But at this point, it sounds like Smart and Oklahoma State just want to move on and aren't going to pursue any further action against Orr. So we may never know exactly what happened between Smart and Orr on Saturday night.
RELATED: The 20 Most Racist Sports Statements of the Past 25 Years
[via Newsweek]
