Flag-Planting Enthusiast Baker Mayfield Doesn't Want NCAA To Outlaw Flag Planting
Baker Mayfield has weighed in on the college football flag-planting debate. And you probably won't be surprised to hear where he stands.
During Saturday's slate of Rivalry Week match-ups, multiple games ended in all-out brawls as winning teams attempted to plant their flags on their opponents' home fields.
After Michigan took down No. 2 Ohio State, police in Columbus had to use pepper spray to break up the fights at mid-field.
Then, several scuffles ensued as Florida students attempted to plant their Gator flag on the Florida State logo.
Things got ugly at Chapel Hill, too, as NC State defeated North Carolina, 35-30, for its fourth consecutive win in the rivalry game.
And not to be outdone, the Sun Devils and Wildcats got chippy when one Arizona State player planted a trident on Arizona's logo.
Disrespectful… or harmless fun? According to Baker Mayfield, it's the latter.
See, Mayfield may be slinging passes for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers now. But before that, well, he was slinging passes for the Los Angeles Rams… and the Carolina Panthers… and the Cleveland Browns. But before THAT, he was an All-American quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners.
And the Heisman Trophy winner was notorious for marking his territory with the OU flag.
"I’ll say this: OU-Texas does it every time they play," Mayfield said. "It’s not anything special. You take your ‘L’ and you move on. I’ll leave it at that."
And even though some fans were appalled by the brawls — with some even calling for the NCAA to outlaw such behavior — Mayfield said it's just part of the experience.
"College football is meant to have rivalries," Mayfield said after. "That’s like the Big 12 banning the ‘horns down’ signal. Just let the boys play."