JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Travis Hunter ended up with the football from his first NFL interception.
Hunter spun the ball in celebration and then danced in the end zone after picking off a pass from New England's Drake Maye late in the second quarter Sunday. A Patriots ball boy picked it up and refused to give it to Jaguars veteran defensive end Josh Hines-Allen, even screaming, “Hey, you can't touch me" when Hines-Allen tried to grab the ball. The ball boy appeared to try to push Hines-Allen away.
NFL players are allowed to keep game balls, although they get charged a hefty price by the league.
Hines-Allen tried to knock this one out of the ball boy's hands before Jacksonville's equipment manager, George Pellicer, stepped between them. The ball boy again screamed, “Hey, he pushed me. He can't do that" as Pellicer worked to retrieve the ball.
The Jaguars confirmed Monday that they did end up getting the football.
Video of the interaction went viral after the game, which the Jaguars won 35-6.
“I was just talking about it," Coen said during a Zoom call with reporters Monday. "I haven't gotten a clean answer. We've been in communication with those guys over there. I think they've gotten it sorted out; I can't say for certain if we got the actual ball or not.
"I know there was something that went on there. I think it's all squared away. We'll get it taken care of.”
Hunter, the 2025 Heisman Trophy winner and second overall draft pick from Colorado, made a leaping catch on the pass intended for Patriots receiver Efton Chism III. The play prevented New England from cutting into a 14-3 lead just before the break.
“The coach did a great job scheming it up for us,” Hunter said after the game. “He called the perfect call for us. We all talked and we communicated on my side of the ball, and I just made it happen.”
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Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) intercepts a pass against the New England Patriots in the first half during an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Hines-Allen (41) reacts during the first half against the New England Patriots in an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) intercepts a pass against New England Patriots wide receiver Efton Chism III (86) in the first half during an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
A New York prosecutor has reopened an investigation into gang rape allegations at a Cornell University fraternity in response to a lawsuit filed by a woman who says she was sexually assaulted in 2024 by seven students after being plied with alcohol and drugs.
Tompkins County District Attorney Matthew Van Houten said Monday that his office will present evidence to a grand jury as he faces questions from the public about why there were no criminal prosecutions in the case.
The woman, identified only by a pseudonym in the lawsuit, filed the complaint Sept. 16, saying she was sexually assaulted at the Chi Phi fraternity house on the Ivy League campus in October 2024 after being pressured into snorting ketamine, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol. She became completely incapacitated while frat members were sexually assaulting her, the lawsuit alleges.
The lawsuit, the reopening of the investigation and Cornell’s response have sparked a flood of commentary on social media. Many people have criticized the school and the district attorney’s office in their posts, while some have expressed doubt about the lawsuit’s allegations. Some posted photos of the seven fraternity members.
The accuser is suing the men, the Chi Phi fraternity, the university, an Ithaca bar and others, seeking undisclosed damages. Her attorney did not immediately respond Monday to messages seeking comment on the prosecutor’s decision.
The woman went to campus police at the time, but Van Houten said the accuser did not make any claims of being gang-raped or drugged in her initial sworn statement to authorities. The prosecutor also said he was never contacted by the woman's attorney about her statement or about reconsidering the decision not to prosecute, but he reached out to the attorney recently.
“Seeking justice sometimes requires us to reconsider or reopen cases when we are provided with additional evidence,” Van Houten said in a statement. “I have been asked by the community to revisit the decision whether to pursue criminal charges against the seven fraternity members. I have already begun that process, starting with our conversation with Jane Doe and her attorneys.”
The university said in a statement that it supports the decision to reopen the investigation. The school said it conducted its own investigation and issued sanctions, including expelling some students and suspending others. It also said the on-campus Chi Phi chapter was closed in 2024 and remains barred from campus.
School officials on Monday declined to release more information on the sanctions, including how many students were expelled and suspended. Cornell said last week that federal privacy law barred it from disclosing specific information on individual students.
“Any suggestion that the university did not impose consequential punishments for those involved is false,” the university said. “A continuation of the false narrative that there were minimal consequences in this case is irresponsible, will make survivors feel less safe and supported, and will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault.”
The national chapter of Chi Phi did not return phone and email messages Monday.
The school said it conducted an internal disciplinary investigation in 2024. It said a panel of trained faculty and staff heard evidence over multiple days, and both the woman and the people accused had the opportunity to testify and present evidence.
The woman's complaint accuses the university of not preventing the alleged assaults and failing to properly address sexual violence on campus. It includes a photo that it says shows a group chat between frat members discussing the night's events.
The woman, who was a 20-year-old Cornell student at the time and a sorority member, went to campus police about three weeks later, according to the lawsuit. The fraternity and seven of its members were placed on temporary suspension that same day, the lawsuit said.
The complaint said the seven were given “the opportunity to mitigate their conduct by submitting essays to Cornell."
Cornell said “none of the individuals charged were offered the opportunity to write essays as a sole consequence of their involvement," noting the expulsions and suspensions.
Over the weekend, New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned what she called a “culture of rape” that is protected at elite institutions.
“When I read what happened at Cornell, those men posted in a group chat. That means it was normal to them. That means it was acceptable to them. This is a culture,” she said Sunday at a forum packed with young people near Cornell’s campus.
“And what we must do is understand that we cannot protect those spaces any more.”
Cornell said a school task force on campus sexual assault, formed in 2025, made recommendations earlier this year, several of which have been implemented while others are in development.
The task force report said a 2025 school survey showed 35% of undergraduate women and 8% of undergraduate men reported experiencing sexual assault during their time at Cornell.
Since the lawsuit was filed, the prosecutor said, his office has been flooded with phone calls, voicemails and emails about the case from people seeking answers and others making insults and threats.
“The community outrage stemming from the incomplete news and social media coverage requires that I provide an answer to why the investigation resulted in a lack of criminal charges,” Van Houten said in a statement.
Eeshaan Chaudhuri, a Cornell senior and president of the student government, said there needs to be a fresh look at the university’s initial investigation and why the district attorney's office did not do more.
There also needs to be an examination of the culture at the fraternity, he said.
“This issue poses more of a broader question, not just at Cornell,” he said. “Obviously, these things can’t be fixed overnight.”
Ho Plaza is seen at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
People walk in Ho Plaza at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
The Chi Phi fraternity house at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Heather Ainsworth)
FILE - People walk on the campus of Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)
