Michigan State suspends four more football players

East Lansing — The fallout from the fight between Michigan State and Michigan players Saturday night in the tunnel at Michigan Stadium continued Tuesday as Michigan State announced the suspension of four more players.

In a joint statement from athletics director Alan Haller and coach Mel Tucker, the Spartans suspended senior Jacoby Windmon, senior Brandon Wright, junior Justin White and freshman Malcolm Jones for their roles in the altercation.

The suspensions are effective immediately and come two days after Michigan State suspended junior Angelo Grose, sophomores Itayvion “Tank” Brown and Khary Crump, and freshman Zion Young.

“We are transparently working with law enforcement and the Big Ten Conference to evaluate additional facts and evidence surrounding the events in Ann Arbor,” a statement released by Michigan State read. “We will continue to take appropriate action in this matter as we learn more. The student-athlete suspensions will remain in place until the investigations are complete.

“The health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, personnel, and the Spartan community is our number one priority.”

In the moments after Michigan’s 29-7 victory, chaos ensued in the tunnel leading to both locker rooms as Michigan’s Ja’Den McBurrows and Gemon Green were involved in what appeared to be separate incidents with Michigan State players.

In a video recorded by The Detroit News, Grose, Brown and Young are seen grabbing, throwing and hitting McBurrows, who fell to the floor at one point before jumping back up. The video showed Wright, Jones and White were also in the vicinity of the skirmish, though making out whether or not they struck McBurrows is difficult.

In video shot by ABC, Crump is seen swinging his helmet at Green. It also shows Windmon being involved, either grabbing or hitting Green, as well. The ABC video was released after the first suspensions were announced late Sunday night.

On Monday at his weekly news conference, Tucker called the actions of his players “unacceptable.”

“We’re not here to make any excuses for the behaviors on Saturday,” Tucker said. “They are unacceptable. It is also very important to say we honor the traditions of the Big Ten Conference, including the Michigan State-Michigan rivalry game, and we have a responsibility to uphold the values of this great university.

“We are deeply sorry to both universities, the conference, our fans, alumni, supporters and of course, all of our student-athletes, past and present.”

The latest suspensions will make it even harder for Michigan State (3-5, 1-4 Big Ten) on the field Saturday, when they travel to face No. 14 Illinois. Grose, Windmon and Young are all defensive starters, and Wright and White have also played significant snaps on defense.

“Obviously, the season hasn't gone how we had hoped and how we planned,” quarterback Payton Thorne said Tuesday. “But we're all we’ve got in the room. No one's coming in to help us. No one's coming to save us. So, it's all of us moving forward together. And if we decide to start separating, it'll all unravel and nothing good will happen for anybody.”

This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.