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D-III Basketball Player Throws Vicious Elbow into Opponent's Face

Fitchburg State's Kewan Platt made sure the ref couldn't see him before leveling the blow to Nichols College's Nate Tenaglia's face after a made three-pointer.
Fitchburg State's Kewan Platt raises an elbow and clocks Nichols's Nate Tenaglia in the face.
Screen capture via Twitter/@JimMWeber

A Division III basketball game got pretty heated last night, resulting in Fitchburg State's Kewan Platt laying out Nichols College player Nate Tenaglia in one of the dirtiest sports moments you've seen in a minute.

At a game played last night in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Tenaglia buried a three with Platt coming up quick on him as he held the follow through. As Platt jogged over, he checked behind his shoulder to see if the referee was paying attention, and then proceeded to plow right into Tenaglia's face, elbow-first.

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It's unclear what, if anything might have preceded this incident, but it's impossible to imagine it would have justified Platt's vicious blow. A full video of the incident, per For The Win, revealed that Platt received a technical in the first half, and was eventually ejected from the game after he leveled Tenaglia in the second half. Platt led Fitchburg State with 16 points, but his team lost to Nichols 84-75.

UPDATE (2:20pm, EST)

Platt has been suspended indefinitely from the team and barred from Fitchburg's campus, per ESPN. Platt's name has since been removed from the team's website, and the school's league, MASAC, vacated his "player-of-the-week" award, which was given to him recently.

Fitchburg's athletic director Matthew Burke issued the following statement:

The Fitchburg State community is appalled by the conduct displayed during Tuesday night's home basketball game. The player involved has been indefinitely suspended from the team and barred from campus, effective immediately. His behavior is antithetical to our community values and good sportsmanship. Fitchburg State does not tolerate behavior that violates those standards. The case is being reviewed at the student conduct level for consideration of further sanctions.

Nichols College released a statement saying they believed the incident arose after Platt grew frustrated with Tenaglia's defense, as he was marking him all game. They also mentioned that Tenaglia was "unharmed" in the incident, and that he was able to play the rest of the game.