Pepper Spray and Chaos Incident: Ohio-State Michigan Postgame Pepper Spray Incident Both schools fined $100,000 for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy.

Following Michigan’s 13-10 upset over Ohio State in November, police officers who used pepper spray on players and fans were cleared of wrongdoing after a review.

Two Ohio agencies determined that officers from the University of Michigan Police Department, The Ohio State University Police Department, and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office acted appropriately in their crowd control efforts.

The incident occurred when Michigan players attempted to plant their flag at midfield, leading to a confrontation with Ohio State players that escalated into a fight.

Police intervened but struggled to contain the players and fans, prompting them to use pepper spray to disperse the crowd.

Ohio State detective Douglas Cunningham, who used the spray, defended his actions by stating it was necessary to control the aggressive and overwhelming crowd, while both schools were fined $100,000 for violating the conference’s sportsmanship policy.