Did Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin inappropriately touch a cheerleader after a big win in the NCAA tournament?
Following the Wildcats’ 85-80 win over TCU Sunday night in San Diego, footage surfaced online showing Mathurin leaving the court and while extending his hands, he brushed against the upper chest of a cheerleader, who had no reaction to the moment.
Does Arizona’s #Mathurin usually celebrate wins like this? pic.twitter.com/tXUTOTPW6h
— Andrew (@Andrew24276927) March 21, 2022
Social media discussed this after it happened:
Hey @MarchMadnessMBB @ArizonaMBB why did Benedict Mathurin have to touch a @TCU cheerleader in the breast? pic.twitter.com/4qe9rP7Oqx
— SportsFanatic (@GivingMyOpinion) March 21, 2022
@corbydavidson Did you see this?? Mathurin for Arizona just grabbed a TCU cheerleaders boob. WTF?? pic.twitter.com/JJwHwGZUnc
— H (@herbster37) March 21, 2022
Did Bennedict Mathurin just touch the opposing cheerleader in the chest? Cuz that would be #MarchMadness
— Dee Williams (@D23ArtfulDodger) March 21, 2022
“Mathurin tit-tapped a TCU cheerleader. Terry taunted the cheerleaders. Kerr mocked TCU fans.”
Do better @ArizonaMBB@uarizona
🐻⬇️#MarchMadness— 𝚎𝚖𝚒𝚕𝚢🦋 (@emjoyx) March 21, 2022
Did Ben Mathurin just Um to that TCU cheerleader?… pic.twitter.com/YAHNQXmfdq
— At The Buzzer (@AtTheBuzzer1) March 21, 2022
So am I the only one that caught Mathurin cop a feel on this cheerleader as he walked off the court? pic.twitter.com/MFXqLMj4ct
— Jimmy D (@jdandrea21) March 21, 2022
Plus, add the sexual assault by Mathurin on a TCU cheerleader. The NCAA needs to act on this immediately. True classless program and terrible culture.
Proud of the heart and respect Big 12 schools play with. A truly elite league of players and coaches. #Big12 #TCU #MarchMadness https://t.co/Y5QjXZdbGV— Taylor Pryor 🌪 (@TaylorPryor3) March 21, 2022
I know Arizona’s Ben Mathurin didn’t do it on purpose but I’m pretty sure he touched the TCU cheerleader on the chest by mistake. Either that or it was really close 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️#MarchMadness #CelebrationsGoneWrong pic.twitter.com/54KQ4QJGTQ
— Ron Johnson (@3RonJohnson) March 21, 2022
TW
I’m sorry I keep posting this bc I know seeing someone get touched without their consent can be triggering to some but this really needs more traction. Disgusting from Kriisa. Arizona won’t do shit about it though https://t.co/wshpi6NOXv— frame drop city (@fdc_palace) March 21, 2022
So are they gonna review that Mathurin incident with the cheerleader? Oof for Arizona if that was intentional 😬
— Bryan Black (@358jerseys4hope) March 21, 2022
In the video, Mathurin never even looked at the cheerleader. It looked like he was just throwing his arms out to give anyone a high five who wanted one.
Mathurin had a career-high 30 points after going 8 of 19 from the field and 11 of 13 from the free thrown line.