The sports world had its eyes on Houston on Thursday night because the Rockets were playing host to the Golden State Warriors just hours after Carmelo Anthony’s time with the team came to an end. However, while all that was going on, the city’s college football team had a game that involved a rather odd incident between its head coach and star player.
Cougars standout Ed Oliver was on the sidelines for Thursday night’s contest between Houston and Tulane, as he’s missed four games in a row due to a knee injury. It’s an unfortunate loss for the Cougs, as Oliver is perhaps the best defensive player in the sport.
It’s also less than ideal because Oliver sitting out led to some tension between himself and Houston coach Major Applewhite. Oliver was on the sideline wearing a Cougars jacket, and during the game, Applewhite made him take it off because of an apparent rule he has that only players who are suited up can wear a jacket. As the team went to the locker room for the half, Oliver had to be held back while he chewed out Applewhite.
Houston defensive star Ed Oliver appears to angrily confront coach Major Applewhite after being told to remove his jacket pic.twitter.com/axbg7YR6ND
— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) November 16, 2018
This is a rather bizarre moment, both because Applewhite puts his hands on Oliver and because “non-active players can’t wear jackets on the sideline” is a bizarre rule. Oliver has already said he’ll enter the 2019 NFL Draft, and if his knee injury (or, perhaps, his desire to not exacerbate it) means his career with the Cougars is over, this will be an unfortunate final memory for his time in Houston.
