Alabama safety Malachi Moore apologizes for his tantrum late in loss to Vanderbilt

Alabama safety Malachi Moore apologized Monday for his late-game tantrum a weekend loss to Vanderbilt.

The two-time team captain pushed Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia's head to the ground at the end of a play, threw his mouthguard and incurred an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for kicking the football 40-35 upset that cost the Crimson Tide the No. 1 ranking. Moore also appeared to defy coaches' orders to leave the field when they tried to replace him.

He apologized for his actions on social media on Monday.

“I was completely off base,” Moore said in one Post on X. “I let the emotions of the game affect me and put myself at the forefront of the team. As a two-time captain and fifth-year player, I understand the standard we are expected to live up to at Alabama, and I have failed to achieve that by acting in selfish and unacceptable ways.”

Coach Kalen DeBoer did not say what punishment, if any, Moore would face.

“We got through it,” DeBoer said Monday. “I just want to say this about Malachi, what he did, he did his best by taking responsibility for it. That's pretty much immediately after the game until this morning. Things that are all inspired by him, but are also part of our conversations.

“I want to make sure Bama fans know that this guy has been rock solid since January and, along with a few others, has been instrumental in holding this thing together.” When a lot of people decided to leave, this guy stood his ground. This guy loves Alabama football.”

Defensive coordinator Kane Wommack did not immediately respond when asked if Moore refused orders to leave the field.

“Just at that moment, I think (Moore) got a little emotional,” Wommack said. “So at that moment we wanted to try to calm him down a little bit. Sometimes in such situations it is better to let them calm down at a later date.

“But I think he's handled things really well since then, taken on the level of responsibility that Coach DeBoer implemented and done a really good job going forward.”

Offensive lineman Tyler Booker, another team captain, said Moore has spoken to the team.

“Did he do it right? No,” Booker said on “The Next Round” podcast. “But we all appreciate how much Malachi cares. First and foremost, I just want to get this out there. This is my teammate. I will always have his back.

“The way I deal with it, the first thing I think of when I was standing on the sideline in that moment is: OK, what could I have done better? How can I prevent this from happening in the future? I learned that from Malachi.”

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