OT: Brandon Spikes Sitting Out Whole Game
If you think that Urban Meyer found some sense of decency within himself (or at least that the SEC did for him), think again. He is suspending himself.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4623708
So to get this straight, the guy who attempted an act of eye-gouging knows what he did was wrong, and has more class than his coach and decided that he needed something approaching an actual punishment. Credit to him and a big WTF to Urban Meyer for failing to institute a suspension.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:17 PM ^
wow that's really mature on his part. Chapeau to him
November 4th, 2009 at 9:30 PM ^
Such a huge loss, I wonder if Vanderbilt takes advantage of this for an upset? Man, Urban must have noticed that something was seriously wrong if he benched one of his defensive stars for this huge game. Man, that coach has integrity, he needed to teach the kid a lesson. Spikes will learn his lesson now that he misses the WHOLE game!
November 4th, 2009 at 9:33 PM ^
I like what you did with that there. Seriously, that half-game suspension was a joke. Meyer might as well did nothing if he was only going to sit Spikes for two quarters against Vandy.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:39 PM ^
Seiously, how big of a deal is it to lose an All-American against Vanderbilt's offense?
Not very, especially if you have 10 two year starters from a national championship team, and a probably good MLB replacement. Meyer is wrong for not suspending him for the rest of the regualar season and the SEC BCS CHAMPIONSIP PLAY-IN EXTRAVAGANZA!
November 4th, 2009 at 9:48 PM ^
The act itself deserved much more than a half-game suspension. It wasn't like his hand got stuck inside the RB's face mask.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:50 PM ^
Compared to Blountpunch, this was worse.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:26 AM ^
I like how Urban says "We are doing this out of respect for our team". How about you should have done it in the first place out of respect for the player who could have lost an eye, his team, the integrity of the game or the rules? He is a self promoting arrogant jerk that always tries to put a spin on everything to make it seem like they are the ones who are being wronged. You can shine a turd all day long but when its all said and done its still shit!
November 4th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
doesn't seem to think it was a big deal, and he's taken all the self-righteous wind out of my sails as I shake my fist at Urban Meyer all Grampa Simpson style.
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4619952
The cynic in me thinks Spikes is sitting this one out because he doesn't want to risk injury (draft value) versus a pretty bad Vandy squad.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:58 PM ^
Ealey may be trying to downplay it, move past it, be the bigger person, tough guy, whatever. Still, you can't just try to gouge a defenseless guy's eyes. If this happened off the football field, he would be punished more than this.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:08 PM ^
If he tackled someone off the football field, he'd be punished more than this too.
November 4th, 2009 at 11:17 PM ^
the fact that this kind of thing happens in pileups all the time. even worse. i know stories of people getting body parts trampled on and grabbed etc. just this got caught on cameras and everything else didnt.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
I'm do not know the impetus behind this move, but I give Spikes credit if he really suggested the suspension.
November 4th, 2009 at 9:55 PM ^
Very wierd that he is the kind of person that would gouge someones eyes out, and the kind of person that would suspend himself. I think 2 or 3 games is the better punishment. This was worse than the Moutan punch, and maybe worse than the Blount incident.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:53 PM ^
Maybe worse? It absolutely is worse. You could do serious damage to someone by gouging their eyes.
November 4th, 2009 at 10:55 PM ^
"an eye for an eye"?
November 4th, 2009 at 11:41 PM ^
As Grandma used to say, "It's always funny until someone loses an eye."
November 4th, 2009 at 11:33 PM ^
Do you really think a coach would let one of his best players take himself out of a game a game unilaterally?
November 4th, 2009 at 11:42 PM ^
But the article made it sound like Spikes came up with the idea on his own and asked Meyer for permission.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:42 AM ^
Right, I doubt that.
November 5th, 2009 at 12:04 AM ^
Spikes' move is all about trying to get good PR as a future pro. Nothing else.
November 5th, 2009 at 2:24 AM ^
The reason he's suspending himself is not b/c he thinks what he did was wrong, it's because he doesn't want to distract his team:
"'I really don't want to be a distraction to the team,' Spikes said. 'I want the guys to prepare without any negative things going on. I feel like if I would play, it would be a big thing. I'm just trying to stay out of the way and just motivate the guys. I'm pretty sure Stamper's my back and my teammates really support me on this decision.'
'Alot of the negative things out there are really weighing heavy on his heart right now,' Meyer said. 'As a group, we decided in the best interest just for the team to not play him Sat. It's a group decision. We're doing it out of respect for our team so we can focus on trying to win our ninth game. We think it's the right thing to do.'"
Um, Brandon, you should miss the game b/c your act was criminal, not b/c it might affect your team poorly.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:29 AM ^
This is a follow-on to our typical societal reaction of "I'm sorry if someone was offended by my comments" meme. Doesn't matter if what you said/did was wrong, just if someone was offended.
There is a difference between true remorse/contrition, and CYA. Darn me and my Catholic upbringing.....
November 5th, 2009 at 8:05 AM ^
Talk about lack of institutional control.
I love what Lane Kiffin- though he's an idiot- said about this:
"I guess Urban will discipline his team- or he won't."
November 5th, 2009 at 9:28 AM ^
Tebow probably talked him into it.