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Malachi Moore not suspended, Kalen DeBoer defends the Alabama captain
- Published: Oct. 07, 2024, 1:10 p.m.
Chaotic raw footage of Vanderbilt's on-field celebration after knocking off No.1 Alabama
Kalen DeBoer made clear he wanted Alabama football fans and others to understand something about safety and captain Malachi Moore.
“He has had my and our back since day 1,” DeBoer said. “There comes a point too where sometimes as things play out, you’ve got to have your guy’s back as well and understand we all make mistakes and we all have just got to own up to it.”
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That was the end of DeBoer’s answer when asked if a suspension would be considered for Moore, who had an outburst late in the loss to Vanderbilt. Moore has since apologized in a statement for his actions.
DeBoer simply answered “no” when asked about a potential suspension.
“We have handled it,” DeBoer said.
Among the things Moore did late against Vanderbilt: He gave quarterback Diego Pavia a shove late at the end of a play, Moore chucked his mouthguard, Moore kicked the football (drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty) and Moore looked like he refused to come off the field when the coaching staff tried to substitute Bray Hubbard for him. Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said: “In that moment, he got a little bit emotional, so we were going to try to settle him down just a little bit.”
DeBoer made a point to go in-depth about Moore and the situation after DeBoer said there won’t be a suspension for Moore.
“I’m just going to say this about Malachi: What he did, he has gone above and beyond in taking ownership,” DeBoer said. “This is pretty much immediately after the game to this point. Things that are all prompted by him, but also part of just our conversations. The guy, I think the thing I want to make sure Bama fans know is, this guy has been rock solid and been a critical, critical piece, along with others, there were some others as well, of keeping this thing together since January. OK? When a lot of guys chose to leave, this guy stood firm. This guy loves Alabama football. He works relentlessly out there every single day on the football field.”
DeBoer said everyone saw Moore’s passion on display with the way he acted at the end of the Vanderbilt game.
“Yeah, there were some things he regrets and wishes he probably didn’t do,” DeBoer said. “But he’s owned up to it and we’ve handled it internally and are still handling it internally. He’s a first-class guy. He’s out in the community weekly. That’s just part of who he is, doing things to give back. Understanding the platform he has. Eyes are on our program, a lot of eyes are on him, and this guy plays hard for himself, his teammates.”
DeBoer stressed how much this program means to Moore.
“Doesn’t make it right by any means, what some of the actions were,” DeBoer said.
And then DeBoer finished his answer, talking about how Moore has had his back, and he’s got Moore’s back, too.
