After the then-ranked No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide lost to the Vanderbilt Commodores, the game had three major storylines. For starters, Vandy hadn’t beaten Alabama in 40 years and had never beaten a top-five team ever, so Alabama fans were certainly not thrilled about either of those historical feats. Secondly, Alabama fans have been absolutely distraught at head coach Kalen DeBoer not wearing a polo on the sidelines, which has sent a portion of the fan base spirling.
However, the biggest storyline was the behavior of fifth-year safety and team captain Malachi Moore in the final moments.
Moore kicked the ball away from an official, refused to be subbed off by the coaching staff, and slammed the head of Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia into the ground for no reason after a play was over. The latter being something that he revealed he apologized for on Tuesday.
“I hit him up on Instagram the other day,” Moore said. “Just let him know my bad I didn’t mean for it no malicious way. Just let the game got away from me. He hit me back so we cool.
” To the surprise and dissatisfaction of Alabama fans, DeBoer opted not to suspend Moore for his actions as the head coach felt things had been handled internally.
A stance that many fans have disagreed with, as there are already stark differences in how Nick Saban ran the program compared to how DeBoer has called the shots early in his tenure.
Moore and the Tide will return to action on Saturday as the No. 7 Tide will host South Carolina.
