Texas A&M wanted SEC to consider fines, suspension for Nick Saban

Texas A&M President M. Katherine Banks and Athletic Director Ross Bjork put in a request to the SEC in May, asking for consideration of monetary and participation penalties against Nick Saban, emails obtained by The Tuscaloosa News through an open records request show.

On3 was first to report the findings in the emails.

Bjork sent the email on Thursday, May 19, the morning after Alabama football's coach said the Aggies bought their entire recruiting class.

“Coach Saban’s statement is false, beneath the dignity of the SEC, and corrosive to the fabric of sportsmanship in college football as a whole and especially within the SEC," the email read. "We expect the league to take strong, public action against Coach Saban and the University of Alabama to demonstrate that such unprofessionalism and disrespect for Texas A&M’s student-athletes, coaches, and the university as a whole, will not be tolerated. A public apology from Coach Saban to Coach Fisher, Aggie Football, and Texas A&M University is a good starting point, but the league should also consider monetary and participation penalties against Coach Saban."

SABAN, FISHER: Jimbo Fisher says spat with Nick Saban is over with

SEC COACHES: What SEC coaches said about Nick Saban vs Jimbo Fisher: Cotton candy, Mickey Mouse and a skinned cat

Sankey wrote a reply email saying, "I do not view suspension or financial penalty as appropriate at this time."

The day the emails were sent, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher held a press conference, blasting Saban. Fisher's comments ranged from calling Alabama's coach a narcissist to saying he maybe should have been slapped as a child.

Later that day, Saban apologized for singling anyone out. The SEC issued he and Fisher public reprimands for violating SEC sportsmanship bylaws.

When reached about the emails, an SEC official told The Tuscaloosa News on Monday the league has nothing more to add after the public reprimand.

Neither Texas A&M nor Alabama had any comments either when reached by The Tuscaloosa News on Monday.

Fisher told Sankey he was going to hold a press conference. Sankey cautioned against that because that could bring Fisher into the territory of violating the same bylaws Saban had.

Fisher went ahead with it anyway, so the two were reprimanded alongside each other.

"While working to finalize the press release focused on Coach Saban’s public comments, I was made aware of video from Coach Fisher’s press conference," Sankey wrote Bjork. "After reviewing statements made by Coach Fisher, he also fell short of the expectation in SEC Bylaw 10.5.2 as he directed public criticism toward another institution’s staff member. While, to a certain extent, his desire to clarify the record is understood, elements of Coach Fisher’s comments are in conflict with the membership-established expectations.”

Nick Kelly covers Alabama football and men's basketball for The Tuscaloosa News, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach him at nkelly@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter: @_NickKelly

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Texas A&M wanted SEC to consider fines, suspension for Nick Saban