Records reveal how Texas trooper who bumped Gamecocks in A&M game was disciplined
In November, a Texas state trooper went viral after cameras showed him bumping into, pointing and yelling at USC football players during a game at Texas A&M.
The interaction, which happened in one of the stadium’s tunnels after South Carolina receiver Nyck Harbor scored on a long touchdown pass, drew national criticism on social media. The trooper was relieved of his assignment at Kyle Field midgame and sent home, and the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Office of Inspector General said it would look into the incident further.
That investigation is now complete.
According to new information obtained by The State via public records request, the involved trooper, identified by records as Texas Highway Patrol senior trooper Matthew Sliva, was not suspended, demoted or fired as a result of his Nov. 15 interaction with Harbor and USC running back Oscar Adaway III.
Sliva did face “corrective action” after an internal investigation “revealed that the trooper acted in a manner contrary to the department’s rules, regulations, and expectations of its employees,” per a Texas DPS spokeswoman.
The specific details of that corrective action are unclear.
A representative for the Texas Department of Public Safety’s general counsel confirmed via email on April 28 that an investigation into Sliva’s conduct had been completed. But the office declined to release specific results of the Office of Inspector General investigation, citing state law.
Texas’ open records law only requires the public disclosure of documents related to officer misconduct if an investigation “resulted in disciplinary action.” Under Texas open records law, a “disciplinary action” is defined as one of three things: A discharge (firing), a suspension or a demotion.
“The responsive records consist of an investigation that did not result in disciplinary action, as defined above, being taken against a commissioned officer,” a representative for the Texas DPS Office of General Counsel said via email. “Therefore, the requested records are confidential and our office is prohibited by law from releasing this information.”
The Texas DPS Office of Inspector General, an independent division that investigates complaints concerning department employees, says on its website that a “sustained complaint” can result in other forms of disciplinary action.
Other forms of discipline include a “formal written reprimand,” “disciplinary probation,” “time off without pay” and “reduction of salary rate,” per the office.
Since the office’s investigation into Sliva’s conduct didn’t result in a discharge, suspension or demotion, though, it wasn’t subject to public disclosure.
Sliva, 47, has worked for the Texas Department of Public Safety since 2002 and has been a senior trooper for the Texas Highway Patrol since July 2024, according to a copy of his personnel record. His annual salary is $98,085, records show.
What happened in interaction between Harbor, trooper?
The viral interaction between Sliva and South Carolina football players occurred late in the second quarter of USC’s Nov. 15 loss at Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.
With 1:06 left in the first half, Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers found Harbor for an 80-yard touchdown. After Harbor scored, he subtly grabbed at the back of his right leg and jogged into a nearby tunnel.
Adaway was among those trailing the play who briefly followed Harbor into the tunnel to celebrate with him. Adaway later said he saw Harbor grabbing his hamstring and figured his teammate didn’t want to come to an immediate stop.
As the players walked out of the tunnel and back onto the field, Sliva was walking into the tunnel from the other direction. Sliva walked in between Adaway and Harbor and bumped into both players. Broadcast video shows both players subtly leaning out of the way to allow Sliva to pass between them.
After making shoulder-to-shoulder contact with Adaway, Sliva turned around, pointed toward Harbor and yelled “Get out of there! Get out of here!”, according to ESPN’s broadcast and a video snippet of the exchange posted by South Carolina football’s Twitter/X account.
Adaway and Harbor were both caught off guard by the interaction, raising their hands to indicate confusion. Adaway, who filed a since-dismissed criminal complaint against Sliva a month after the interaction, told the Washington Post in December that the players had tried to move out of Sliva’s way and apologized.
More details on reaction to incident, internal investigation
Reaction to the clip was swift. Prominent sports personalities including ESPN commentator Stephen A. Smith and NBA superstar LeBron James criticized the trooper’s actions and called for him to be suspended. Sliva was relieved of his gameday assignment and sent home within an hour, according to social media posts from Texas A&M’s university police department and Texas DPS.
Adaway and his lawyer, B. Keith Jackson, told The State in December they wanted the trooper to face accountability for his actions and apologize to Adaway. At the time, Texas DPS had declined to release the name of the trooper to them.
The interaction between Sliva and the South Carolina players triggered dozens of local and national news stories, media requests and emailed complaints, according to Texas DPS emails obtained via records request.
The Office of Inspector General’s administrative investigation into Sliva’s conduct started shortly after the Nov. 15 incident and lasted at least three months. A Texas DPS spokeswoman didn’t specify exactly when the investigation ended.
Jackson, Adaway’s lawyer, filed a criminal complaint against the trooper with the Brazos (Texas) County Attorney’s Office on Dec. 12, but that complaint is no longer active. The county attorney declined to pursue charges in the case on Dec. 22.
In a phone interview, Jackson said he and Adaway still didn’t know the name of the trooper involved in the incident. Jackson said Adaway is intent on moving on from the moment and currently focusing on his pro football career. Harbor’s father has also said his son is moving on from the incident.
Jackson, though, said he remains frustrated at the county attorney’s office for declining to pursue charges. He said he was told the office declined to pursue charges because it didn’t want to “embarrass” the trooper or reveal his name.
Jackson also said the situation is indicative of a greater issue in Texas, where state agencies such as the Texas Department of Public Safety have sovereign immunity which generally prevents them from being sued as an entity.
Jackson said this law usually limits a lawyer’s options to suing an individual state employee, the only option he had while representing Adaway. Pursuing claims against individuals is “typically just not worth the resources,” he added.
“As defense lawyers, we’re always looking for accountability for who has allegedly wronged our client,” Jackson told The State. “When this sovereign immunity statute and the state (Texas) are working in concert with other state agencies to thwart our actions, it frustrates us. ... It limits our ability to pursue action and justice.”
