“This gator took the Gators’ loss in the NCAA basketball tournament hard and decided to take on a new sport today – soccer,” the sheriff’s office wrote.

BRADENTON, Fla. — One “Florida gator” took the college team’s March Madness loss to heart after being found stuck in a soccer net in Manatee County.

The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office says a passerby found an alligator trapped in a net Tuesday morning in the Greyhawk Landing neighborhood in Bradenton.

MCSO COPS Rural Unit responded, freed him from the net and safely released him into a nearby pond.

“This gator took the Gators’ loss in the NCAA basketball tournament hard and decided to take on a new sport today – soccer,” the sheriff’s office wrote. “We suggest that he stick to swimming as a sport in the future!”

Alligator stuck in soccer net rescued by Manatee County Sheriff’s Office