Student William Gardner arrested after allegedly hitting BYU cheerleading coach with a bottle at Holy War rivalry matchup: Report
The No. 7 BYU Cougars remained undefeated Saturday, edging the Utah Utes 22-21 in a game held in Utah. Following the Holy War rivalry matchup, a fan was arrested for allegedly throwing a bottle at a cheerleading coach.
According to a Fox 13 report, William Gardner allegedly threw a bottle onto the sidelines of Rice-Eccles Stadium at the end of the game, hitting cheerleading coach Jocelyn Allan on the head. The impact reportedly caused Allan to lose consciousness briefly.
According to the arrest documents, Gardner attended the game in a suite with his family, and it was his father who informed the University of Utah Police that his son threw the bottle. Gardner was later arrested and charged with assault, a Class A misdemeanor.
BYU cheerleading coach Jocelyn Allan spoke about her injury
The Cougars cheerleading coach shared the details about the alleged incident on Instagram on Sunday. She wrote:
"At the conclusion of tonight’s BYU/Utah game, a Utah fan in the table seats in the south endzone threw a water bottle and hit me directly in the head. I lost consciousness but, thankfully, was lowered to the ground by one of my cheerleaders.
"Police are going over video footage to identify the seats that it came from (we have a pretty good idea). If you saw the incident, or have any info on the family who owns that particular box, please contact me. Thank you!"
Several Utah fans threw debris on the field after the Utes lost the game to the Cougars. A BYU spokesperson told Deseret News:
"The incident is still being reviewed, and we won't be providing further comment right now."
Meanwhile, the Cougars (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) are unbeaten after the win over Utah. As things stand ahead of Week 12, the Cougars would play the No. 18 Colorado Buffaloes (7-2, 5-1) in the Big 12 championship game.
To retain their top spot in the conference, the Cougars must win their final three games. They have games against Kansas, Arizona State and Houston to close the season.