Accident Or Intent? Video of Basketball Player Appearing to Tap Cheerleader's Breast Fires Debate

The sophomore Canadian shooting guard for the Arizona Wildcats, based in Tucson, Arizona, and considered a top contender in this year’s NBA draft, found himself at the center of attention after an incident following a game with the Texas Christian University Frogs (TCU).

A video showing a University of Arizona basketball player, Bennedict Mathurin, appearing to briefly tap a cheerleader's breast with his hand while heading for the locker room has gone viral, with the Fort Worth Star –Telegram first reporting the incident.

The ensuing online debate has seen social media users split, with some insisting the Canadian college basketball player should be disciplined, while others argue that “everyone is going out of their way to be offended” over what was simply an accident.

Why did Benedict Mathurin have to touch a cheerleader in the breast?

© Photo : SportsFanatic/twitter/screenshot

Both officials at the University of Arizona and TCU have reportedly been in contact over the episode that occurred as Arizona Wildcats shot to a 85-80 overtime victory over TCU on Sunday.

In the footage, the 19-year-old Mathurin could be seen spreading his arms wide to celebrate the triumph, but, either due to miscalculation or mere accident, while exiting the court he appeared to brush the cheerleader’s breast with his fingers.

Mathurin himself is yet to address the video, but meanwhile, Twitter users have been arguing whether the Wildcats’ guard had perhaps failed to see the girl until it was simply too late.

Some on Twitter insisted that the young player had “clearly moved his left arm back as he put it down.”

“If he touched her (probably didn't), he was clearly trying to avoid it. This is a non-issue,” another social media user argued.

Some suggested that perhaps this episode would never have happened if TCU cheerleaders had not been placed “too close to the court exit”. As a result, players were forced to literally “slide around them” to get to the locker, tweeps wrote.

The video itself was seen by some as the culprit, as the “depth of angle could have played a part in making the video show something that didn't actually happen.”

Nevertheless, there were those who blamed Mathurin for the incident and claimed the incident ought to have been “taken seriously.”

Some on Twitterverse believed that the player was “instinctively giving a hand slap or shake.” They urged officials to take a closer look at the footage, adding that perhaps there was “another angle” that could clarify the incident.

“This cannot go away. He needs to be held responsible for his actions,” a user under the name of Mike Regalado tweeted.

Meanwhile, Bennedict Mathurin, a sophomore at University of Arizona, recorded 30 point in the game on 20 March, with the top-seeded Arizona winning 85-80 against ninth-seeded TCU in the second round of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament.