MAC reprimands CMU captains for refusing to shake hands with WMU captains

Much like Maryland a few weeks back against Penn State, Central Michigan’s captains refused to shake hands with the captains from rival Western Michigan before the coin toss of Saturday’s game.

Much like the Big Ten when it reprimanded Maryland, the Mid-American Conference announced a public reprimand on Monday night for four CMU team captains – wide receiver Titus Davis, linebacker Justin Cherocci, offensive lineman Andy Phillips and defensive tackle Leterrius Walton – for their actions.

(You can see brief video of the incident here)

“The MAC has determined that the actions of the Central Michigan captains, in intentionally failing to shake hands of the captains from Western Michigan during the pre-game coin toss constituted a violation of the Conference sportsmanship policy,” said MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher in a statement.

Central Michigan removed all four players as captains and the MAC said that it “endorses the institution’s decision” to do so.

“Sportsmanship is among the core values of intercollegiate athletics and a value reinforced by members of the Mid-American Conference,” Steinbrecher said. “While the pre-game handshake is a simple gesture, it is one that is symbolic of the ethics and traditions of the game. Team captains are expected to demonstrate leadership and have a responsibility to pattern behavior that exemplifies the very best values of the team and institution they represent.”

Additionally, per The Morning Sun, CMU athletic director Dave Heeke, head coach Dan Enos and the four captains released separate statements concerning the incident.

Heeke:

“The decision by our captains to not shake hands with Western Michigan after the coin toss is disappointing and does not represent the core values of Central Michigan University and our athletic department. I have spoken with our captains and made it clear that we do not condone this act of poor sportsmanship. I apologize to Western Michigan President John Dunn, Director of Athletics Kathy Beauregard, football head coach P.J. Fleck and the entire WMU football program for the behavior of our captains on Saturday.”

Enos:

“Our captains’ actions after the coin toss on Saturday goes against everything we teach about respecting our opponents. Being a captain is a privilege, and because of the actions of these four individuals, we have decided to remove them as captains. Our rivalry with Western Michigan is intense, but it must always be built on respect for each other’s programs. This action took the rivalry too far, and I want to apologize to WMU coaches and student-athletes.”

Former captains Cherocci, Phillips, Davis and Walton:

“We want to apologize to Western Michigan for not shaking hands after the coin toss on Saturday. What we did was disrespectful. We have reached out to coach Fleck and director of Athletics Kathy Beauregard today and apologized for our actions. We also apologize to our teammates, coaches and the entire university for not showing the leadership that is true CMU.”

Western Michigan won the game 32-20 – its sixth straight win – and improved to 8-3 (6-1 MAC) on the season. Central Michigan dropped to 7-5 (5-3 MAC).

For more Central Michigan news, visit ChippewaCountry.com.

For more Western Michigan news, visit BroncoBlitz.com.

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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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