ND Coach Marcus Freeman Has Controversial Stance On Fighting During Practice

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“These dudes are competitive. And I don’t want them to lose that competitive spirit,” Freeman said. “If we don’t have scuffles or tussles… then, we’re probably not as competitive as I aspire to have our team to be. But we do have a simple rule. Two guys fighting is the max, and we’re not gonna have full-team melees.

“So, if two guys are fighting, they’re fighting. Everybody else’s job is to break them up. And we have to be proactive about that in terms of showing them and teaching them. And our guys do an unbelievable job at pulling guys apart. Then, you’re not wasting time. We got so much work to do, we can’t waste two minutes breaking up a fight.”

“Me and my brother, when we would fight, it’s just like brothers, we fight. But there’s a line you don’t cross,” Freeman said. “… Everybody’s line might be a little bit different. But that’s ours.

“If two guys are fighting, don’t cross the line and don’t take it off the field. It can’t be personal. … If I hear about that, then we have a bigger issue. Our captains and our leaders gotta make sure we stop it or I ultimately do.”

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