Oregon Ducks LeGarrette Blount’s post game punch should result in season long suspension
To start the game, both teams met at half field to exchange handshakes, a move that was meant “to encourage sportsmanship in college football”. After LeGarrette Blount’s post game activity, there will be plenty of talk about sportsmanship in college football in the coming days; or lack thereof, anyway.
In the days leading up to the game, Blount’s quote was circulating all over the net; “We owe that team an ass-whuppin’.” I guess when he couldn’t deliver one on the field he decided to deliver one in the form of a sucker-punch after the game.
I hate to bring a goofy movie quote into a serious article, but the entire time I was watching the Oregon game I couldn’t stop thinking about Patches O’Houlihan from the movie Dodgeball telling Peter La Fleur that “that was the worst display of dodgeball I’ve seen in 30 years.” I’ve seen worse displays of football, but not a single one was coming to mind as I was watching this game unfold.
And then, the aftermath. LaGarrette Blount sucker-punches Boise State’s Byron Hout straight to the jaw, and then proceeds to fight with his own teammates (including two blows to the head to WR Garrett Embry) and then eventually need police restraint. In case you didn’t see it…
Talk about a miserable display of football. As the game dragged on, I couldn’t help but think about the negative press it would bring the Pac-10; year in and year out this conference doesn’t get the respect it deserves, and having one of the conference’s premier teams lose in such ugly fashion on such a huge national stage was sure to spread more of the national garbage that this is a one-team conference, and any team not named the USC Trojans should be ignored.
Instead, one of the conference’s most highly touted players who is featured on preseason watch lists of most of the nation’s most prestigious awards (the Maxwell, Walter Camp, and Doak Walker) steals the spotlight in one of the worst ways imaginable. I’m just disgusted right now. The Oregon Ducks players and fans deserve a lot better, as do players, coaches, and fans in the entire Pac-10 conference.
With Commissioner Larry Scott on hand to see the events unfold, as well as all the national attention this is garnering, I’d be absolutely shocked to see LeGarrette Blount play in another game this season. If he does, it would be a huge mistake.
This sort of conduct is completely unacceptable, and it sends the wrong message to the team and the conference if he isn’t punished severely. It is one thing to get upset and shove a player. It is quite another to blind-side a guy with a punch to the jaw, then punch your teammates, and then go after fans.
If both first year Commissioner Larry Scott, first year Athletic Director Mike Belotti, and first year coach Chip Kelly all go the slap of the wrist route, I for one will be extremely disappointed. This is a good chance for one (or all) of them to send a clear message that this sort of behavior will never be tolerated, and they should definitely do so. I’ve always had nothing but respect for LeGarrette Blount as an athlete, and I know how much losing him would hurt Oregon’s chances in the conference this year. But letting him play would do even more damage.
There will be plenty more on this from all over the net in the coming days, but this is my initial reaction. If missing a few team meetings or misconduct off of the field warrants suspensions and punishments, on-field misconduct of this magnitude on national television should be a one-way ticket out of town.
EDITOR’S NOTE (2:10 PM, 9/4): Oregon Ducks suspend LaGarrette Blount for duration of the season. http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4446898
Well said Dave, and I couldn’t agree more.
I’m a Fresno State fan, but have always respected and enjoyed the Ducks football program. It’s one thing to shove a player. It’s another thing to throw a punch and regret it. But it’s an entire different world to flat out completely lose it, blind-siding opponents, hitting teammates, going after fans, resisting uniformed officers, etc.
It’s important for a new regime to establish right away the standard they want held under their reign. A slap on the risk in this situation just tells your players, fans, and potiental recruites exactly what they can get away with. The last thing Oregon needs in their future is players coming back at them with the whole “Well Blount only got this for doing that!”.
It’s sad to see such talent go to waste, but at this point, the most important thing is getting this kid help and support. That is all twenty times more important than his football career right now. The anger he displayed wasn’t just a heat-of-the-moment reaction. It was continuous and dragged on and on. At no point during the entire post game did he ever take a breath and restrain his emotions. Blount needs to spend the next year growing as a man, and in maturity. Perhaps if he’s willing to accept the help, he can go on to having a football career.
Blount really embarrassed the NCAA and negated the American Football Coaches Association goal for promoting sportsmanshp this weekend. His sucker punch was inexcuseable, but his subsequent behavior as he had to be escorted off the field was even more reprehensible. Oregon should do the right thing and boot Blount from the team — especially given his past history of discplinary problems. If not, then the NCAA needs to do the right thing and prove that it is not the NFL which tolerates player’s criminal behavior because of the money.
Every game Mr. Blount plays in is a game that I root against the Ducks! It is in the “heat of batle” where one’s true character is displayed. Mr. Blount does not belong on the field!
My son was a top 50 high school football player and went to a pac-10 school. If we were in the recruiting process to day and Oregon did not suspend this guy, the process would be over with any school that would allow this conduct, win or not,
It is Hout who should be suspended for slapping Blount, first. Once he touched him physically, it was on.
And it wasn’t a sucker punch — the retaliatory punch was coming, as Hout’s coach expected it might — that’s why coach screamed at Hout for being a classless jerk, and that’s why Hout started to turn his head to look at his coach, and that’s when Blount’s punch landed. This is all on Hout.
If anyone is curious as to what Hout said to Blount that set him off…. that should be pretty clear, it was Blount who so vividly claimed in Sports Illustrated that Boise State was due for an “A Whuppin” but he used the whole word. The whole BSU team was well aware of Blonts comments this past week, I’m sure it fired them up for the game as well. So he was simply asked “how ’bout that A whuppin now” ?
Blount is a thug and needs to go.
You know you are sad….people mess up and make mistakes everyday but to completely disown them is beyond cruel. Football is a tough sport and at times gets out of hand but how many times have we seen PRO players lose it and hit someone. Hello…this is no different Hout should have kept his mouth shut if he wanted to keep his teeth it is as simple as that. AND NO I DO NOT condone fighting, but I also believe in second chances. How many do we give for other things that do not even matter? This is this man’s career and he is young…its called growing up. Maybe this will teach him a life lesson that he can carry with him always. No just a memory of a very bad mistake. You and others like you act as if he murdered someone. He would not get this much press if he had. It’s ridiculous you people need to seriously get a life. Stuff happens move on!
Send him up here to Canada – that punch showed real potential and the Habs would love to have him I’m sure!
Yes, Peter Smith…. it most certainly was a sucker punch!
Blount has been talking smack for the past two weeks, even here in our local newspapers! If he can’t take a little smack back after all the crap he dished out then he doesn’t belong in sports!
Your right on all accounts save one. Oregon fans do not deserve better. There has never been a bigger bunch of poor losers rooting for a team. He’s a victim of that attitude. If you don’t believe me, than think about that this is now becoming a trend with Oregon players, see Aarron Brooks punching a UW player on YouTube.
Petey, you’re way off. This is not all on Hout. Blount set himself up for retaliatory smack with his pre-game internet smack talk.
Hout didn’t hit Blount, he put his hand on him to get his attention so he can rub it in – something Blount deserved and earned. There was nothing about what he did that warranted a sucker punch and that is exactly what it was. If you believe Hout was trying to hit Blount, then you also have to believe that Hout would be dumb enough to hit someone and then immediately turn around and not make any attempt to move away from the person he just hit on the shoulder. A man who hits is expecting a fight and wouldn’t turn away and not expect to be hit. Hout CLEARLY did not expect to be hit because he didn’t hit Blount.
It was an unprovoked attack. Blount started the smack on-line, couldn’t handle the smack coming back to him and elevated it to a sucker-punch.
He deserves nothing less than a full-season suspension. Frankly, assuming he’s on scholarship, that should be revoked, as well, and he can look for a new school next season.
Did anyone else notice that a Boise State fan can be seen making his way down from the stands to the field level fence where he proceeds to throw not only an f-bomb at Blount, but also a round-house right that lands full flush onto the Oregon player’s left cheek? This fan should be located and dealt with accordingly.
Suspend and arrest… if any of us ever sucker punched somebody we’d get arrested for assault. Why not arrest this idiot.