Georgetown Basketball Coach Suspended After Hurling Water Bottle into Stands and Hitting Child

NEED TO KNOW

• Georgetown University basketball coach Ed Cooley is apologizing
• The head coach threw a water bottle into the stands on Saturday after the game, hitting a small child
• Cooley, who was suspended for one game following the incident, said the bottle hit the child of family friends

Georgetown University’s basketball coach Ed Cooley is apologizing for losing his cool.

The Hoyas head coach threw a water bottle into the crowd as time expired in the team’s loss to Xavier on Saturday, Dec. 20, hitting a child who was seated behind the team’s bench.

In video from the moment, the water bottle appears to hit the child, who was seated on an adult’s lap, in the chest.

"I am deeply sorry for my actions during last night's game, and sincerely apologize to the Nyahkoon family, whom I have known for years and regard as my own family,” Cooley, 56, said in a statement. “My conduct was unacceptable and does not represent who I am or the leader I strive to be. I want to also apologize to the Georgetown community, team, fans, the league and my family. I take full responsibility for my actions and their consequences. I will learn from this experience to ensure it never happens again."

The school suspended Cooley, who is in his third season at Georgetown, for one game in response to his actions. Associate head coach Jeff Battle will coach the team when it takes on Coppin State in a non-conference game on Monday, Dec. 22.

"I met with Coach Cooley today to discuss the incident which occurred after last night's game against Xavier,” Georgetown athletic director Lee Reed said in a statement on Sunday. “I expressed that his conduct did not align with the standards we expect of our coaches, nor does it reflect the values of Georgetown Athletics or Georgetown University.”

Cooley threw the bottle just after the buzzer, when the Hoyas attempted to tie the game with a 3 and send it to overtime. 

The 8-4 Big East team also missed 18 free-throws in the game, which likely contributed to Cooley’s frustrations.

"Definitely out of character for me to be so frustrated but, really, that’s not called for and I’ll call them and make amends to them," he told reporters after the game. "So I apologize to the fans, I apologize to our players. Totally, totally out of character for me to be that way."

Read the original article on People