By By Chandler Myers
The night that college football kicked off Oregon running back LeGarette Blount sent a right-cross to the jaw of Boise State defensive end Byron Hout and has been suspended with the chance for the suspension to be lifted this weekend when Oregon plays Stanford.
Originally, Blount was declared to be suspended for the entire season, which would have ended his collegiate career.
With his suspension possibly being lifted, college football fans around the country will debate whether he deserves to be reinstated after his meltdown on ESPN.
According to head coach Chip Kelly, Blount has gone beyond his conditions of reinstatement, which will be determined by the Pac-10 commissioner.
Does he deserve the right to play college football again this season? That question should be answered sometime between today and Saturday.
On a similar note, Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes, who is one of the top linebackers in the country was caught gouging a Georgia players eye in last week’s Gator win over the Bulldogs.
Gators Head Coach Urban Meyer had the clip shown to him after the incident made the news as well as YouTube. How did he respond by suspending him for the first-half of Florida’s game against Vanderbilt.
Shouldn’t there be a little less leniency by Meyer. A player punches another and gets suspended anywhere from 9 games through the entire season, but a player gouges another in the eye which could ultimately cause severe damage to that eye, and he only sits for one half, which sadly the SEC accepted.
Urban Meyer needs to reconsider that punishment he has handed out, and maybe order Spikes to sit out atleast two games if not the rest of the season.
Meyer is a great coach, but is still maturing as he learns how to handle his players.
After being asked why Spikes gouged the player in the eye, Meyer said, “Georgia’s players had done it, so he did back to them.”
That statement and the suspension makes Meyer look like he is on Lane Kiffin’s level.
This actually looks bad on the SEC
If LeGarette Blount is able to come back this week or next week and salvage what little career he has left, good for him.
If the Pac-10 tells him his suspension is final, let that be a lesson the the SEC Commissioner who will let an eye-gouger sit out for two quarters.
Most of all, here’s to hoping that the violence in football will stick to hitting people with pads and not fists and fingertips.
Chandler Myers is sports editor of the Atmore Advance. He can be reached at 368-2123 or by e-mail at sports@atmoreadvance.com.