It was the kind of empty, upbeat comment announcers make all the time. A positive remark about a college player and good wishes for his future.

But the player Brent Musburger chose to praise on the Sugar Bowl telecast Monday night was Oklahoma running back Joe Mixon. And that led to an outcry.

In 2014, the highly recruited Mixon was captured on videotape punching a woman in a deli in Norman, Okla. The punch broke her jaw and cheekbone.

He was suspended from the team and did not begin his Oklahoma career until the 2015 season. He also received a deferred prison sentence and community service. In the aftermath, Mixon apologized but has mostly declined to talk about the episode.