Florida’s punishment of Spikes doesn’t fit crime

[Wolf]

Eye-gouging is considered such a foul, filthy act that it’s banned by even our most blatantly combative exercises, including mixed martial arts and pro wrestling.

Sheriff Urban Meyer of the Gainesville PD isn’t as concerned, apparently.

Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes was caught on film purposefully jamming his fingers through the facemask of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey on Saturday in an effort to rip at Ealey’s eyes.

It was about as ugly and unbecoming of a play as there is in football.

For the act, Meyer will bench his star linebacker for the first half of the Gators’ game against Vanderbilt.

Repeat: one half. That penalty isn’t a joke, although the man dishing it out is acting like one.

There is almost no excuse for Spikes’ conduct. None. It was a dirty play and one with serious ramifications. There’s a reason violently poking your fingers at someone’s eye is a zero tolerance offense. The other guy can go blind. He has no ability to protect himself.

Football is an emotional, violent pursuit and acts like this happen more than the camera catches. “I don’t think that we did anything in that game that they didn’t do,” quarterback Tim Tebow told reporters.

That’s the excuse of a child though. The other-guy-does-it-too is never a justifiable defense. It wouldn’t even matter if Ealey had provoked him (the two had been jawing prior to the incident).

Spikes is the one who got caught.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=dw-spikes110209&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

 

[Heath Shuler]

punishment? what a freaking joke

 

[Texan4Ever]

Spikes deserves to get suspended, but knowing good ol' Urban Myer, he's not about to loose his "leader" on defense. Spikes has been falling in a lot of mock drafts and I think it may have to be his over aggressive "I'm the $hit" atitude.

I just wish someone could truck the daylights out of him and bring him back to reality!

 

[edo783]

Some duffass called into the Charlie Pallilo show today complaining that he shouldn't have got anything because others that bite and scratch and such in the piles for a loose ball haven't gotten punished. Needless to say, Charlie lit him up.

 

[Goatcheese]

If this is all Florida is going to do the NCAA should drop a 4 game bomb on his ass.

 

[Corrosion]

If this is all Florida is going to do the NCAA should drop a Season ending bomb on his ass.

Fixed that for you

 

[Texecutioner]

Eye gouging like Spikes did was easily a way he could have did some damage to some player's eyes and got them out for a season even. A Senior at that. That should already have a mandatory sentence of a game or two by the NCAA for an offense like that. He could have potentially hurt someone else's career going forward by doing something like that.

 

[WWJD]

That punishment is a joke.

If a DL had done that to Tebow he'd probably be in jail.

 

[TexansSeminole]

As much as I wish I could just tear into a Gator here, I can't. Sure, it's disgusting and obvious, but I can't help to think that this happens all the time. Rivarly game, there has been 2 or 3 personal fouls. There are a lot of dirty plays in football that the camera doesn't catch or show.

Anyway, it should have been a 1 or 2 game suspension. It doesn't matter though, it is Vanderbilt.

 

[Blake]

What's the big deal? Ealey's got 2 eyes right???

 

[beerlover]

WHAT HAPPENS @ THE BOTTOM OF PILE STAYS ON THE BOTTOM OF PILE​

 

[gwallaia]

Suspended a game against Vanderbilt!?

Suspend him a game against a real opponent instead.

 

[kastofsna]

kind of an odd situation. Ealey doesn't think Spikes did anything wrong, and says he shouldn't be suspended. after he says that, Spikes "suspends himself" from the Vanderbilt game.