LINCOLN, NEB. (AP) - The apologies are piling up at Nebraska.
Defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said Tuesday that he’s sorry for his actions after the 9-6 loss at Texas A&M over the weekend. A day earlier, his brother and head coach Bo Pelini offered an apology for his sideline behavior during the game.
While he was on his way to the locker room, Carl Pelini grabbed a video camera held by a reporter for a Texas A&M fan website. A couple parts of the camera’s eyepiece were torn off.
“It was a very emotional situation, and the mob scene on the field after the game amplified that,” Pelini said in a statement. “Having been involved in a similar situation in 2003 at Missouri, and in witnessing the situation on the field, I made a poor decision in trying to prevent a reporter from recording the scene.”
Brandon Jones, co-owner of TexAgs.com, said Pelini called to apologize Tuesday morning.
“I’m very content with the apology,” Jones said. “It was complete and sincere. That’s all I was looking for.”
Jones said Bo Pelini also called to apologize, and he received a call from athletic director Tom Osborne. Jones said Carl Pelini offered to pay for any damage to the camera, but there was none.
Bo Pelini had said Monday that Carl was trying to pull a Nebraska player out of a group of people when he met up with Jones.
“Apparently he went through the camera to get (to the player), and if something happened to the camera, I know Carl regrets that it happened,” Bo Pelini told reporters. “That’s what happened, and I talked to the player that was involved, too.”
Video of the incident didn’t support Bo Pelini’s account. Carl Pelini said Bo “did not have all the facts” and that he “wasn’t fully prepared for the question.”
“Hopefully this statement will erase all doubts about the situation and allow everyone to put it behind us,” Carl Pelini said.
Osborne, a former Nebraska coach, praised Pelini and the rest of the staff for “some very fine things” over the past three years and critics should remember that.
“Bo and his staff have turned the football program in a very positive direction,” he said. “Bo has indicated that events such as those will not happen again. I take him at his word, and agree that it is very important that going forward we do not see a recurrence.”
No. 16 Nebraska hosts Colorado on Friday in the final regular season game before both teams leave the Big 12. Nebraska will join the Big Ten next year, while Colorado is going to the Pac-12.
(This version CORRECTS Corrects day of Bo Pelini comment to Monday in 8th paragraph.)
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