Memphis Women's Basketball Player Who Sucker-Punched BGSU Player In Handshake Line Charged With Assault

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The Memphis women's basketball player who was caught sucker-punching a Bowling Green player going through the teams' handshake line on Thursday night has officially been charged with assault.

Following Bowling Green State's 73-60 win over the Tigers in the women's NIT game, Memphis fifth-year senior Jamirah Shutes was seen exchanging words with BGSU's Elissa Brett. Shutes then threw a punch which resulted in Brett hitting the floor and Memphis staff having to pull Shutes out of the fray.

Shortly after the incident occurred, Bowling Green announced that university police were investigating the matter.

On Friday afternoon, Bowling Green athletics announced that the university police department "has charged a member of the Memphis Women's basketball team with assault."

While the statement does not name Shutes by name, it's safe to allege that she is the player the police are referring to.

The Memphis athletic department released a statement about the incident as well. The Tigers stated that since the situation unfolded after the game, "jurisdiction falls in the hands of local authorities" and the athletic department is cooperating fully.

At this time it is unknown what was or was not said between Shutes and Brett before the punch was thrown.

Shutes, a Haywood, Tenn. native, has made her Twitter account private while Memphis' official women's basketball account turned off replies to their final score graphic shared after the game.

Stay tuned with OutKick as the story develops

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.