Tuberville goes weak in offering limp explanation of slap

It’s one thing to lay your hands on another man in full view of television cameras.

It’s another matter entirely to offer an explanation that flies in the face of all available video evidence.

Yet for some reason, that’s the tack Tommy Tuberville has decided to take. Following No. 25 Texas Tech’s 41-34 double overtime win over Kansas on Saturday, the head coach was asked about a sideline incident in which it walks, talks and smacks like he took a slap at one of his assistant coaches, grad or otherwise.

Tuberville’s explanation?

He was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his (headset) and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field. “He’s out on the field, and we’re trying to get him off. I missed his shoulder, and grabbed his ... . It wasn’t anything to it.”

Talk about making a bad situation worse. In no way, shape or form was Tuberville going to pull anything. In a fit of anger and/or rage over a 12-men-on-the-field penalty, Tuberville lashed out with a slap and knocked the special teams assistant’s headphones and ball cap to the ground.

His motion suggested anything other than a pull. The only pulling the coach is doing now is our collective legs. Or the wool over the eyes of the visually impaired.

UPDATED 6:09 p.m. ET: Here’s an expanded version of Tuberville’s postgame comments, courtesy of quotes distributed the Texas Tech.

Q. Early second half the situation where you had 4th and 2 at your midfield, what happened between you and your GA there?

COACH TUBERVILLE: Oh, I reached and grabbed him. He was on the field, and I reached to grab him and pull him off. When I pulled, I missed his shirt and I grabbed his face mask and his microphone ripped off his head. I was trying to get him off the field.

Q. Was there no heatedness on your part?

COACH TUBERVILLE: What?

Q. It looked like a lot of confusion there. They were throwing personnel on the field.

COACH TUBERVILLE: Yeah, he was trying to help me get him off. But he’s standing out on the field and we’re trying to get him off, and the referee’s standing there. I just pulled him off and missed his shoulder and grabbed his I mean, it wasn’t anything to it. It was just one of those deals where I missed his shoulder and ended up grabbing the microphone on his head set and pulled it off.

Q. You weren’t heated (Indiscernible)?

COACH TUBERVILLE: Well, not at him. We couldn’t get the right personnel. We got two back to back penalties. That’s what I was hot about.