EXCLUSIVE: MSU student on the receiving end of Arkansas' Brazile's towel speaks out
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It was the towel slap heard 'round the world.
Or at least on the social media accounts affiliated with college basketball fans.
As the Arkansas players were making their way off the court, the Izzone was relentless in its taunting, chanting AIR-BALL, AIR-BALL, AIR-BALL.
Brazile stretched his arms out above his head and then swung his towel into the crowd, striking Eddie Skaleski, an MSU sophomore, directly in his face, knocking his promotional net head covering off his head.
The moment was captured on video by Ben Deliso who shared it on his TikTok account (@ben.deliso11). After that, it was shared far and wide and quickly went viral on the internet. Most people are calling out Brazile for his actions, while others are suggesting that it may have been accidental.
Skaleski, the student who was hit by the towel, spoke exclusively with Spartans Illustrated on Sunday regarding the incident.
But first, an Izzone primer: Directions are clear for the students: crank up the intensity, be as loud as possible, intimidate the opposing players, create a homecourt advantage - but do not cross the line. Before the game started, Skaleski said he was warned by a Breslin Center employee that he was close to crossing that line.
The Breslin employee gave strict instructions to Skaleski: no giving opposing players the middle finger and no leaning over the railing. The Breslin Center staff wanted the student section intimidating and as loud as possible, of course, but not disrespectful to the point where it would be too over the top.
Skaleski admitted that he was definitely talking trash to the Arkansas players before and during the game and - by his own account - was being obnoxious, but he did not think he said anything specifically to Brazile which would have prompted him to swing a towel at him.
“We were waiting for the game all day, and we were super pumped up,” Skaleski said. “We were very loud and definitely obnoxious, but I did not say anything specifically to him (Brazile). There was a cop right next to me (as the players were exiting), and (the cop) told me that if I said anything, he was going to kick me out, so obviously I stayed silent.”
In the video, as the players are exiting, Skaleski is seen with his hands behind his back and not engaging with the players as they entered the tunnel.
The hands behind the back gesture - which is often used by defending soccer players to avoid getting called for a handball in the box - suggests Skaleski was purposefully broadcasting his compliance to the Breslin Center staff, almost an exaggeration of composure as he is seen as one of very few students not chanting "airball" at Brazile as he exited the floor.
Even though he did everything as he was told, he still felt the brunt of the exchange, as you can see by this second angle of the encounter:
Skaleski believes there is no doubt that Brazile's actions were intentional.
“As he was walking by, he said to his teammate, ‘Watch this,” Skaleski said. “You can see it in the full video and then after that he just winds up and hits me.”
According to Skaleski, he was later approached by Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek, who he said told Skaleski that he loved the energy that the student section was bringing.
“Their athletic director came up to me, we shook hands and talked for a good five minutes,” Skaleski said. “He told us he appreciated how loud we were and the fact that we were giving their team a hard time. I mentioned that the cop and (Breslin) employee told me to tone it down, and he said, ‘This is the Izzone, you’re supposed to be loud.'"
In a now-deleted Instagram story post, Brazile appeared to apologize for the incident.
“I would like to apologize for my actions in the tunnel as we exited the floor last night. That was not a reflection of what I, or our program, represents.” Brazile said.
According to Skaleski, the leaders of the Izzone were told that the NCAA has been notified of the incident.
What will come of it?
Stay tuned.
