A video emerged on social media Saturday accusing Arkansas football players of watching “The Polar Express” at halftime of the Razorbacks’ 48-10 loss to Auburn.
During his Monday press conference, Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman confirmed the video was real and said he was disappointed with the video leaking to the public, saying it broke a team rule.
“It’s also a team rule you don’t post anything after Friday night, after we leave on Friday,” Pittman said. “So the young man made a mistake, sent it to a friend, friend sent it to his brother, brother put it out on what have you. I’ve already addressed it and I think we’re fine there.”
Pittman said the player who sent the video was deeply remorseful for his mistake.
When pressed further, Pittman said it is not normal for players to be watching the television at halftime of a game, and the head coach didn’t know that there was a television in the locker room. However, he also downplayed the impact it had on the Razorbacks’ performance.
“Somehow the TV got turned on. I don’t think, I’ll be perfectly honest with you, I don’t think that him being in the redshirt locker room watching a movie at halftime had anything to do with us getting our butt kicked.”
According to a team spokesperson Saturday night, the locker room in the video is separated from the main Arkansas locker room. The area under scrutiny is reserved for walk-ons and redshirts of the football team who the spokesperson said are not part of the gameday roster. This means they are ineligible to play.
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There are zero Arkansas coaches in the video, and only one of the six players on camera appears to be watching the television.
According to TVGuide.com, “The Polar Express” was on TBS from 3-to-5 p.m. Saturday.
Arkansas trailed Auburn 27-3 at halftime in what was a must-win game to keep its hopes of bowl eligibility alive. The Tigers started the third quarter with three consecutive touchdown drives, extending their lead to 48-3.
Arkansas has two more games on its schedule, rounding out the disappointing season by welcoming FIU and Missouri to Fayetteville.