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Nebraska football coach gets apology after Wisconsin game 'misunderstanding'

Nebraska football coach Donovan Raiola was apologized to after a post-game 'misunderstanding' according to the officer who grabbed him.

By Oliver Vandervoort

Nebraska Cornhuskers football assistant coach Donovan Raiola during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Pinnacle Bank Arena
Nebraska Cornhuskers football assistant coach Donovan Raiola during the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Pinnacle Bank Arena / Dylan Widger-Imagn Images
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While there still aren’t a ton of answers as to why Nebraska football assistant coach Donovan Raiola was grabbed and stopped by a Wisconsin police officer as Huskers and the Badgers were walking off the field last Saturday evening.

It seems that perhaps Raiola had words with Wisconsin coaches after NU thumped the Badgers en route to becoming bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. As Wiscy head coach Luke Fickell and the NU OL line coach walked in opposite directions, it appeared they exchanged words, after one Badgers’ staffer pointed in Raiola’s direction Fickell’s security guard jogged after the Husker coach.

Lt. Adam Boardman, one of the UWPD officers escorting University of Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell to the locker room amid fans rushing the field after a 44-25 Huskers victory, the grabbed the Nebraska football coach by the arm, video posted to social media showed. In the days following the incident, there were questions about why that happened. On Tuesday, UWPD issued a statement somewhat explaining the situation.

Nebraska football coach gets apology from Wisconsin police

"Once it was confirmed that the individual was a member of the Nebraska coaching staff, the UWPD officer apologized for the misunderstanding," the department wrote in an email to the Omaha World Herald. "The interaction concluded cordially with a handshake."

"I don't want speculate without knowing, obviously Donny went to Wisconsin, so I don't know if there was some history there with somebody or something," said Nebraska football head coach Matt Rhule, who said he was shown video of the incident Monday. "When I asked Donny about it, he was like, 'No big deal.' Things happen after games and people are emotional, but he seemed to kinda brush it off."

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