Official apology

Miami AD calls taunting of FSU kicker 'unacceptable'

This 'former' Miami student volunteer's taunting of FSU kicker Xavier Beitia prompted Miami AD to apologize to Beitia and FSU. AP

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) -- Miami athletic director Paul Dee apologized to Florida State kicker Xavier Beitia on Tuesday for taunting he received after missing a possible game-winning field goal last weekend.

Following Beitia's 43-yard attempt, which sailed wide left and allowed the top-ranked Hurricanes to escape with a 28-27 victory Saturday, a man in Miami apparel ran onto the field from the sideline and was photographed taunting the distraught kicker.

"The person in the picture is a former student volunteer with the athletic program," Dee said in a statement released Tuesday. "The actions captured in the picture are unacceptable and show a complete lack of discretion. On behalf of the University of Miami, I want to apologize to Xavier Beitia, his coaches and teammates and all of our friends at FSU."

The man in the photo was not immediately identified by the school.

Florida State athletic department spokesman Rob Wilson said he trusts that Dee will act appropriately. He said the players didn't take great offense to the incident, because they were caught up in the bigger moment.

"Nobody's sure exactly what he was saying, I'm sure it wasn't `Have a nice day,"' Wilson said.

Miami sports department spokesman Mark Pray wouldn't identify the individual but said he was a former student at the university and had been given permission to stand on the Miami sideline. He wouldn't say if the man would be invited back.

"That's between him and Paul Dee about any actions we're going to take," Pray said.

Several photos showed the individual holding a headset belt, which is commonly used by coaches, but Pray couldn't explain why he was holding it and was dressed like a member of the sideline crew.

"Maybe it's just coincidence. He could have picked it up for all I know," Pray said. "He wasn't serving in any official capacity."

 

Related information

Stories

Wide left! No. 1 Miami averts upset by No. 9 FSU

Multimedia

Visit Video Plus for the latest audio and video