College football fans were left in utter disbelief on Saturday night after Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck wiped his own player’s blood across his face.
The wild scene played out seconds after the Golden Gophers secured a gritty 27-24 Big Ten road victory over Washington at Husky Stadium in Seattle.
Cameras tracking the jubilant coach captured him embracing linebacker Maverick Baranowski, who had blood pouring from his mouth after taking a cleat to the face.
Instead of calling over medical staff, Fleck grabbed Baranowski’s head with two hands, aggressively wiped the blood from the defender’s lips, and smeared it directly onto his own left cheek.
The bizarre act left Fox commentators Jack Kizer and Mark Helfrich completely speechless on the live broadcast in the early hours of Sunday morning.
‘Oh my God,’ Kizer exclaimed on the air. ‘There’s no words for this. Oh my God. The definition of blood, sweat and tears.
College football fans were left in utter disbelief on Saturday night after Minnesota head coach P.J. Fleck wiped his own player’s blood across his face in wild celebration scenes
Fleck pictured with his linebacker’s blood on his face as he made his way off the field
‘It’s 1:30 in the morning in Minnesota. P.J. Fleck has gone insane.’
Addressing the incident postgame, Fleck leaned into the wild moment, dubbing the veteran defender his ‘blood brother’ as red stains remained visible on his sleeve.
‘Blood brother,’ Fleck told reporters. ‘Back in the day, I’m sure that’s what they did – the frontiersman out West. Little blood on there, I guess.’
Baranowski, who turned in a monster performance with seven tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception, laughed off the intense display.
‘He’s a crazy man,’ Baranowski said. ‘Winning is hard in the Big Ten, and when you get to win at a place like this, it’s just so exciting.’
‘I love that guy more than anyone, and it’s just such an awesome opportunity to share that moment with him,’ the senior linebacker added.
Teammate Javon Tracy, who watched the postgame exchange unfold, could only shake his head with a grin: ‘I would never do that, but P.J. – he’s different, man. Like, he’s crazy.’
