Malachi Moore is not suspended, Kalen DeBoer defends the Alabama captain

Kalen DeBoer made it clear that he wanted Alabama football fans and others to understand something about safety and captain Malachi Moore.

“He’s been behind me and us since day one,” DeBoer said. “Sometimes there comes a point where you have to stand behind your man as things go along and understand that we all make mistakes and we all just have to accept it.”

That was the end of DeBoer's answer when asked if a suspension would be considered for Moore, who threw a tantrum against Vanderbilt against Vanderbilt. Moore has since apologized for his actions in a statement.

When asked about a possible suspension, DeBoer simply replied, “No.”

“We handled it,” DeBoer said.

Some of the things Moore did late against Vanderbilt included: giving quarterback Diego Pavia a shove late at the end of a play, Moore throwing away his mouthguard, Moore kicking the football (resulting in an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty), and Moore looked like he was refusing to come off the field when the coaching staff tried to replace him with Bray Hubbard. Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack said, “At that moment he got a little emotional, so we wanted to try to calm him down a little bit.”

DeBoer made a point to go into detail about Moore and the situation after DeBoer said there would be no suspension for Moore.

“I just want to say this about Malachi: Whatever he did, he did his best by taking responsibility,” DeBoer said. “It’s pretty much straight after the game to this point. Things that are all inspired by him, but are also part of our conversations. I think I want to make sure Bama fans know that this guy has been rock solid and along with others, there have been a few others, has played a critical role in holding this thing together since January. OK? When a lot of people decided to leave, this guy stood his ground. This guy loves Alabama football. He works tirelessly out there on the football field every day.”

DeBoer said everyone saw Moore's passion in his demeanor at the end of the Vanderbilt game.

“Yes, there were some things he regretted and wished he hadn't done,” DeBoer said. “But he rose to the occasion and we handled it internally and are still dealing with it internally. He's a first class guy. He is out in the community weekly. That's just part of him, doing things to give back. He understands the platform he has. Eyes are on our program, a lot of eyes are on him, and this guy plays hard for himself and his teammates.”

DeBoer emphasized how much this program means to Moore.

“That in no way makes it right what some of the actions were,” DeBoer said.

And then DeBoer finished his answer and talked about how Moore turned his back on him, and he also turned his back on Moore.

No. 7 Alabama next faces South Carolina on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Nick Kelly is a beat writer from Alabama AL.com and Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X And Instagram.