Monday, September 7, 2009

Two Wrongs, One Right

I went for a haircut on Friday at my favorite ear-lowering establishment and feel, finally, completely ready for my return to the classroom on Tuesday. There are about seven to eight chairs with two giant mirrors on either side. The waiting side has a standard definition television about 27" wide, continually rolling either Headline News or CNN Newsroom or something of that nature. I must say that John (Davidson Head Coach) has really opened my eyes to the world's news more that I had ever been accustomed to before and watching this in the barber shop did not seem so unbearable as it may have a year ago.

Yet, on Friday, instead of hearing about the economy, the president or the Middle East, I was watching the incident of Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount (neat, sports on the mainstream media.) The talented senior cowardly and ruthlessly socked Boise State's Byron Hout in the kisser when the teams should have been exchanging pleasantries after a hard-fought (albeit rather boring) game against two top-25 teams. Blount is a brash and arrogant star for the Ducks - and probably not well-known except for intense college football circles or Pac-10 enthusiasts. He is a great runner and has all of the tools to be a good NFL player.

Blount has a number of things going against him not counting his right cross to Hout's jaw. First, he did this on the road, after a loss, when he bragged of doing severe damage to the Broncos defense prior to the match-up. Second, this was the ONLY game worth reporting in the country at the time - meaning there was no other game to speak of, magnifying his transgression even more. Third, he went ballistic before heading into the tunnel, and getting the police to restrain you is not the best way to keep your composure even after a punch in the face. Finally, sportsmanship, like steroids, are two key issues that are scrutinized by not only sports fans, but the general public. All of the major negatives in athletics are magnified for the public to see, either to set an example for the children or just because we are compelled, as a society, to ask why the glass is half empty instead of appreciating how it's starting to be filled.

Blount's done for the year - as he should be. He'll continue to stay on the team. He'll probably get into counseling. He'll have to live with this mistake for the rest of his life. However, if you want to set a real example, punishment and consequence should be given to Hout, too.

By now you've seen the punch proceeded by Hout not only taunting Blount, but physically and mockingly patting him on the shoulder pads for a poor performance. As a coach, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that my players and athletes are much more like to taunt a player than sock him in the mouth.

Disciplinary actions should be taken with regards to Hout. If I am running a character-laden program, taunting of any fashion is not tolerated. I am in no way saying that I think Blount's actions are tolerable. But I'm playing the role of Chris Petersen, head football coach at Boise State. Chip Kelly, the head coach of Oregon, has a ton of decisions to make and even more scrutiny on the way for his swift actions and black eye on the Oregon program and university.

If I'm Petersen, I'm not concerned what happens to Blount. He does nothing for our program. He's not my responsibility. I'm responsible for Hout and his unnecessary verbal stunt, as seen across the nation, make Boise State look foolish and weak. Taunting would not be tolerated and Hout would suffer consequences, including missing game action and spending some time apologizing to the Boise community. It's a shame neither will happen.

After all, how many athletes have you coached or been teammates with that clocked a guy in the mouth after a game. Set an example for the more common problem, not just the extreme one.