Arizona basketball star ‘does not recall’ touching TCU Showgirl but wants to apologize
Arizona athletic director Dave Heeke issued a statement Wednesday on the postgame incident involving Wildcats standout Bennedict Mathurin and a TCU showgirl.
Arizona and TCU have been in contact since Sunday night’s game in which a video clip has circulated on social media that appeared to show Mathurin making contact with the showgirl’s chest.
“Shortly after returning to Tucson, I was notified that people on social media were claiming a video clip showed Bennedict Mathurin may have made physical contact with a TCU student while walking off the court,” Heeke said in a statement. “I have reached out to TCU’s Athletics Department and I spoke with Bennedict. While he does not recall any contact, he has attempted to reach out to the TCU student through their Athletic Department to apologize.”
Mathurin briefly addressed the incident during a news conference Wednesday, telling reporters: “Yeah, I actually sent an email trying to reach out to the cheerleader and sent through the TCU athletic department. I reached out to her, and that is it.”
Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd also addressed the incident.
“I found out about the incident when we got back to Tucson. We were as surprised as anybody,” Lloyd said. “I’m just going to refer to that statement from Dave about the situation.”
TCU athletic director Jeremiah Donati released a statement later Wednesday, saying: “We have been in contact with the University of Arizona following Sunday’s game and received communication from their student-athlete.”
Mathurin and his teammates walked by TCU’s spirit squads on their way to their locker room, celebrating Arizona’s 85-80 overtime victory in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in San Diego.
Mathurin, a 6-foot-6 sophomore guard from Montreal, Canada, is projected as a potential lottery pick in this summer’s NBA Draft. He matched his season-high with 30 points in Arizona’s victory over TCU.
Arizona, the 1-seed in the South Region, advanced to the Sweet 16. UA will face 5-seed Houston on Thursday night in San Antonio.
This story was originally published March 23, 2022 at 2:35 PM.
