Footbrawl Games
Posted on October 18th, 2006 No Comments »
(Source: ESPN.com)
Last Saturday's football game between the University of Miami and Florida International University was marred by an on-field brawl involving dozens of players swinging and stomping. As a result, FIU has suspended 16 players, while Miami has done likewise to 12–for a single game. (One Miami player has been suspended indefinitely for wielding his helmet as a weapon.)
One game? And it's against patsy Duke (not Patty Duke).
Miami president Donna Shalala (she of the Clinton administration) defended the university's decision. "This university will be firm and punish people who do bad things," she said. "But we will not throw any student under the bus for instant restoration of our image or our reputation. I will not hang them in a public square. I will not eliminate their participation at the university. I will not take away their scholarships."
I have news for Donna: Miami's reputation cannot be salvaged. To the public, the team is a bunch of thugs whose on-field antics are far surpassed by their off-the-field misdemeanors and felonies. Student-athletes? Give me a break. This recent activity and the university's response, or lack thereof, will only cement that reputation.
As an aside, anyone who watched the game on Comcast Sports SouthEast heard analyst Lamar Thomas, a former Hurricane, condone the violence. "You come into our house, you should get your behind kicked. [....] You can't come over to our place talking noise like that. You'll get your butt beat. I was about to go down the elevator to get in that thing."
He was fired.
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