Saturday, October 22, 2011

Big Ten Logic

Apparently, one of the defensive linemen for my alma mater, a gentleman (loosely speaking) named Gholston has been suspended for one game due to a punch thrown at an offensive lineman who had just dragged him to the ground with his face mask.

OK, apart from whether Gholston was a thug the whole game--and evidently there was a tackle of the QB that put some stress on his neck--I'm at a loss to explain why punches thrown are punished more severely than dragging a guy to the ground with his face mask.  The one leaves a bruise and (if the helmet is off) maybe a concussion, the latter can inflict some serious damage on the victim's neck, perhaps even breaking it. 

If we wonder why football is getting ever more thuggish, this would be a great example of the mindset that is leading to the problem.  I don't contest that the Spartans should face the Badgers without the services of this gentleman.  However, given the provocation, I'd have to suggest that the Wolverines should be facing Purdue one short on the O-line as well.  Offensive linemen have no business grabbing defenders to begin with (unless they pick up a fumble), let alone grabbing a face mask.

Unless, of course, player discipline in the Big Ten is a sham with little resemblance to the likely consequences of thuggish behavior or the rules of how the game is played. 

2 comments:

Gino said...

i still remember my son getting ejected when when threw an upper cut after removing the helmet of an Olineman who was cutting him at the knees.

and then there was the eye gouging incident that got him tossed earlier (no, he was the one getting gouged, and threw some punches in response).

the refs always punish the victim. i guess its their way of compensating for not flagging the original and repeated fouls they never saw?

Bike Bubba said...

Or saw and didn't care about. I remember a few games I've watched where the left tackle was basically trying to slow dance with the defensive end all game, and there were no holding penalties, and another where about five or six obvious pass interference calls were missed--in the first quarter, and all the missed calls benefited one team.

"Oops." Probably one big reason I like cross country and track--if you run faster than the other guy, not a lot of fouls they can commit.