Georgia has suspended men’s basketball assistant coach Wade Mason with pay while the athletics department investigates an alleged incident that took place at halftime of Wednesday’s loss at LSU, a source confirmed to ESPN on Saturday.
Mason, a first-year assistant under coach Tom Crean, will not be on the bench for Saturday’s game against Ole Miss at Stegeman Coliseum (1 p.m. ET, SEC Network and ESPN App).
An incident allegedly took place at halftime of Wednesday’s 84-65 loss to the Tigers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, involving Mason and director of player personnel Brian Fish.
The university released a statement on Saturday, which disputed reports that it was attempting to fire Crean for cause because he failed to report the alleged incident to the athletics department’s human resources office.
“There have been various media reports related to UGA Athletics personnel ranging from completely inaccurate to incomplete and premature,” the statement said. “The incident in question was reported properly as required by university policies and is under review. We will comment if and when appropriate.”
The Bulldogs are in last place in the SEC with a 6-20 record, including 1-12 in conference play.
Crean is 47-69 in four seasons at Georgia.
