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FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) No. 10 TCU will be without senior safety Nick Orr for the first half of the Big 12 championship game after the conference suspended him for his role in a bench-clearing brawl against Baylor.
After reviewing video of the skirmish that occurred during TCU's 45-22 victory Friday, the Big 12 announced penalties on Sunday against Orr and two Baylor players, running back JaMaycal Hasty and defensive end D.J. Artis.
''These sanctions are the direct result of clear video evidence which shows Nick Orr and JaMycal Hasty throwing punches at opposing players, and D.J. Artis kicking and punching at TCU players,'' Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said in a statement.
Orr, TCU's third-leading tackler with 59 stops, will sit out the first half Saturday against No. 2 Oklahoma in the Big 12 championship game.
Hasty will be suspended for the first half of Baylor's conference opener against Kansas next season, and Artis will have to sit out that entire game.
The brawl happened late in the third quarter Friday. Hasty was being pulled down near the Baylor sideline by another defender when defensive tackle Chris Bradley came in and hit him hard from behind. A Baylor lineman then shoved Bradley, and another TCU defender got involved before all-out chaos ensued, with plenty of shoving and some punches thrown.
TCU coach Gary Patterson and several of his assistants were in the middle of the field to try to keep his players from getting all the way to the other side to join the fray.
After officials restored order and discussed the situation, unsportsmanlike conduct penalties were issued against every player for both teams. But no players were ejected from the game.
The Big 12's review determined that Orr, Hasty and Artis had committed flagrant personal fouls.
After the game, Patterson said he was appreciative of how the officials dealt with the situation.
''We're very fortunate that the officials handled it the way they did because you could have lost players. For a big game,'' Patterson said then. ''You have to give officials a lot of credit for handling it the way they handled it. Because it wouldn't have been one guy, it would have been a couple. Both sides.''
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