Basketball star appears to touch cheerleader's breast in viral video sparking a debate

A viral clip has sparked a debate following speculation that a basketball player touched a cheerleader's breast.

Following Arizona's 85-80 overtime win over TCU, Bennedict Mathurin was seen heading to the locker room. The 19-year-old University of Arizona player was spreading his arms to celebrate the win when he allegedly brushed the cheerleader's chest as he passed.

Dave Heeke, Arizona Vice President and Director of Athletics, said the player "does not recall any contact" but apologised to the TCU student through their Athletic Department.

He said: “Shortly after returning to Tucson, I was notified that people on social media were claiming a video clip showed Bennedict Mathurin may have made physical contact with a TCU student while walking off the court. I have reached out to TCU’s Athletics Department and I spoke with Bennedict. While he does not recall any contact, he has attempted to reach out to the TCU student through their Athletic Department to apologize.”

One person claimed it was "clearly an accident", while others vehemently disagreed.

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The viral clip has since garnered thousands of responses.

"This is the best view yet," one person said. "From his position, he saw the girl and there was no one anywhere too high 5."

While another believed he had his hand out to give a "high five."

"It looked like he had his hands out, giving a high five on the other side. Not an excuse; he should have seen it was a cheerleader," they said.

Another suggested the basketball player "wasn't paying attention."

"I don't know, man. It looks to me like he wasn't paying any attention to anybody over there, just posing for the people to stand before he walked off the court," they tweeted.

Another slammed the clip as "disgusting."

"This is disgusting. That's my team and my Mathurin and I am utterly disgusted. Will amplify. Thank you," they said.

While another eagle-eyed viewer said: "I've watched a dozen times trying to figure out what he was doing or what I'm missing, but I can't find anything that shows he didn't touch her."

indy100 reached out to the University of Arizona and Bennedict Mathurin for comment.

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