Football is a rough and tumble sport. As a result, every year there are fights that break out when tempers flare. Early this year LeGarrette Blount lost his composure and found himself in a national spotlight being scrutinized for his outburst. Clearly it warranted a disciplinary action.
Chip Kelly then made a rookie coaching mistake and threw Blount out for the season. You don’t think it was a mistake? What about the fact that there are fights in every hockey game? As the Houston Chronicle put it:
We rarely discuss the inequity of a football or basketball player being treated like a felon for throwing one punch, while we laugh when baseball players get into all-out brawls.
College baseball players, who play more games in a season than football players do in a career, are given an automatic — and measly — three-game suspension if they are ejected for fighting.
Why is there an “automatic” suspension for fighting in baseball? Because it happens all the time.
Now, after a month has passed things are looking a little different. Blount has been a well-behaved player. Mentors like Kermit Washington and Tony Dungy have come in to provide a voice of reason. And now Oregon is reconsidering their decision, which is making them the subject of national scrutiny again.
What Kelly should have done was announce that Blount was suspended indefinitely and then wait for time to tell him how long. Playing Monday morning quarterback is easy. However, now that reinstatement is on the table, it should be acted on immediately. This will become a source of constant discussion by the media as the ask players and each other whether Blount is coming back and what they think of the decision. While Kelly didn’t make the right decision in the beginning, he still has the chance to get the reinstatement right by getting it over with quickly. The news will fade into the background much faster and everyone can move on with their life. Critics of his decision can be told to look at how intense the punishment was for the other players involved in fights this year. Tell them to look at hockey and baseball and how they deal with fighting. Quit acting like this guy did something that never happens in sports. The death penalty was just too severe for punching a guy that was talking shit.
Blount has served his time. Bring Bloung back now!
