Following the conclusion of Sunday’s Atlantic 10 Championship, a student videographer for the victorious team (St. Bonaventure) was put in a chokehold by a security guard manning the court.
The peculiar incident was captured by a student photographer, Griffin Quinn, from the school in which the contest was being held, the University of Dayton. It was then posted online and sort of went viral from there.
The guy in the chokehold has been identified as Nathan DeSutter, the digital media director for St. Bonaventure’s athletic department. Sources from the conference who spoke to Yahoo Sports on Monday said that a misunderstanding led to the image. According to them, security had been instructed to be especially alert of keeping fans/media off the court to prevent the potential spread of COVID-19. Media members had been told not to leave their seats, though it’s noted that the videographer had credentials granting him permission to be on the court as a result of being a full-time employee of the university. For anyone wondering, that means he was tested regularly because he was a member of the team’s traveling party.
“It was a misunderstanding of access between security and the Bonnes videographer,” said a source for the A10. “Security guards, especially in COVID times, are trained to keep media off the court, but this guy was allowed to be out there.”
Fuller video of the incident shows the same security guard trying to keep the photographer off the court before said photographer pulls a spin move and then gets headlocked shortly afterward.
Players from St. Bonaventure quickly came to the aid of the guy.
“The players on the team were like, ‘Yo, what’s going on? He works with us,’” said Quinn. “They were celebrating, but they noticed something was up. Members of the coaching staff went over and talked to the security guard and then ultimately the videographer was allowed back on the court.”
Quinn’s entire recounting of events, which isn’t long, is embedded above. As he ends with: “The security guard must’ve thought [the videographer] had rushed onto the court after the buzzer rang, which was prohibited for media members who had assigned seating in the stands. This videographer, though, had been on the court earlier. He was let back onto the court after SBU staff and team members spoke with security, explaining his role with the team.”
