Memphis guard Jamirah Shutes made overnight headlines with her involvement in the post-game antics last night. Shutes has officially been charged with assault from the altercation at the end of the WNIT game versus Bowling Green.
The altercation occurred Thursday night after the WNIT Sweet Sixteen matchup where Bowling Green defeated Memphis 73-60. Shutes punched Bowling Green guard Elissa Brett while walking in the handshake line. Due to the altercation happening after the game, the situation falls into the hands of law enforcement.
Bowling Green Campus Police got involved in the situation by launching an investigation. It was announced in a statement earlier today by the school that Shutes would be charged.
“Following Thursday’s unwarranted physical incident after the WNIT home game, the Bowling Green State University Police Department has charged a member of the Memphis Women’s Basketball team with assault. Additionally, BGSU Athletics is conducting its own review. Violence is never acceptable and our priority remains the health, safety and support of our student-athlete, who is recovering and doing well,” stated Bowling Green.
The Memphis Athletics Department said in a statement that the situation was” extremely unfortunate and certainly not consistent with, or representative of, our expectations for our programs and student athletes.” The Department also said they will cooperate with the local authorities process.
There has yet to be any word on what sparked the altercation or what was said between both players at the time. It was noted that Shutes was hit with an elbow in the first quarter of the game which put her on the sideline for the remainder of the first half.
The fifth-year Senior finishes her Memphis career as the team’s leading scorer this season and the 13th all-time scorer in program history. Shutes was named to the All-AAC Second Team this season, averaging 15.3 points. The Brownsville, Tennessee native has put together an illustrious career considering she recovered from an ACL injury in her sophomore season.
We will continue to provide more on the situation once more information is released.
