OT: Pharaoh Brown suspended for his role in a snowball fight

Submitted by m1817 on

Oregon has suspended Pharaoh Brown for the Valero Alamo Bowl for his role in a snowball fight.

Oregon players reportedly organized the snowball fight and more than 100 students participated.

They started out having good fun, it kind of went to a mob mentality.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10108429/oregon-ducks-football-players-face-discipline-organizing-participating-snowball-fight

uniqenam

December 9th, 2013 at 8:37 PM ^

Good. These kids were being asses, and putting people in very uncomfortable situations. You never know how a mob is going to react/turn feral, so this is dangerous not only for the driver, but also the mob, as the driver can engage in vehicular self-defense if unnerved enough. "Just kids" is a stupid excuse for these sorts of idiotic displays.

taistreetsmyhero

December 9th, 2013 at 8:52 PM ^

running a person over for throwing a snowball at your car "vehicular self-defense."

i suppose different people will react to perceived threats in different ways, but to me, the amount of idiocy it takes to think it is appropriate to run someone over for standing in your way and throwing a snowball at your car is infinite magnitudes above the idiocy it takes to think it is ok to stand in front of a car and throw snowballs at it.

Princetonwolverine

December 9th, 2013 at 9:49 PM ^

The driver may fear it will turn into much more than snowballs. Someone opened the car door. If I were the driver I would have been scared.

Mob mentality can cause big problems. Remember the NYC Suv driver that was surrounded by bikers?

taistreetsmyhero

December 9th, 2013 at 10:16 PM ^

so that's not really related.

and in the whole SUV/biker fiasco (which was a little more of a dicey situation what with the family in the car and being more nervous and surrounded by a much more unpredictable mob), while it was totally instigated by a mob being 100% stupid and annoying human filth, it's still general wisdom that you respond to those situations calmly and let them have their moment of fun or whatever, and they'll leave you alone.

the driver got his ass beat not because the mob was initially in a violent mood, but because he decided to instigate the mob by running over the bikers.

so my view is, mobs are dumb, but people who mess with mobs are a different kind of dumb.

LSAClassOf2000

December 9th, 2013 at 8:54 PM ^

As you might have guessed, OregonLive is all over this story. For example -(HERE)

There were a couple players who were not there who did try to step up and represent the team. Per the above article, Marcus Mariota and Hroniss Grasu did take time to apologize for the behavior of their teammates on Sunday. Indeed, Grasu is quoted as saying:

"It's just unfortunate that there's tension with the football players, and students and the university and the teachers but I'm glad no one got hurt or there was serious damage," Grasu said.

boliver46

December 10th, 2013 at 9:56 AM ^

This doesn't feel like an apology to me when referring to tension between the players/students and the university/teachers.  It's like they are blaming the escalation of this event on the administration - not the actions of those involved.  Weak.

dRich

December 9th, 2013 at 8:57 PM ^

It's fucking snow. Its not like they white washed the guy. Clearly there is a snow ball fight going on, what do you expect driving right through the middle. Just park the bitch, hop out and throw a few back maybe that will help you unload some of the pent up stress that has you hating annual winter festivities... People are so temperamental. #LightenUpFrancis

In reply to by dRich

taistreetsmyhero

December 9th, 2013 at 9:06 PM ^

and maybe will highlight the unreasonableness of the kids for people who have been completely blinded by the perceived vaginal juices of this pussified modern world.

imagine you're driving on greenwood before a home game. there are a couple of people tossing the football from sidewalk to sidewalk as people are apt to do during pregames.

as you're driving down the street, instead of pausing their game of toss for the 2 seconds it would take for you to drive past them, they instead intentionally beam your car with the football. then, they proceed to stand in front of your car and continuously beam the football at your grill.

it's not a huge deal i suppose, but there's no reason to defend assholes. i literally can't comprehend why you'd do that unless you're guilty of being an asshole yourself.

In reply to by dRich

WolvinLA2

December 9th, 2013 at 9:11 PM ^

You're right, it's just fucking snow.  That's why he's only being suspended for a football game, and not being arrested.  If i was that guy, I'd be mad as hell, but what are you going to do to a 6'7" college football player?  Not every guy driving to work wants to hop out and join a student snowball fight.

MGoBrewMom

December 10th, 2013 at 1:04 AM ^

Most people with the "lighten up" attitude are not part of the grown up society where a.) they have to go somewhere like work, or have life stresses where they can't/don't feel like getting out of the car to play in the snow; and b.) they actually empathize with someone who is a victim of the mob mentality.

How bout, the dude just did not want to participate? That should be enough in a civilized society.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 10th, 2013 at 8:43 AM ^

I'm not sure that the "lighten up" crowd (which is fortunately small) is the one empathizing with the victims of the mob mentality.  The lighten up crowd appears to be mostly comprised of morally bankrupt hypocrites who are remarkably silent when asked (repeatedly) if they'd be OK about having this happen to their elderly father but otherwise loud and proud in their willingness to defend asshattery.

mtzlblk

December 10th, 2013 at 11:52 AM ^

As part of the 'lighten up' crowd, I am 46 and am a fully fledged working adult that runs a company in silicon valley.

if that professor just chills and smiles at the harmless, fluffy snow and waits a bit and drives on past....you have a congenial, fun, collegte prank-type situation where even a tiny bit of a sense of humor would serve people well in that situation. Absent that, even a small amount of tolerance and a shake of the head while you drive on through will get you past that whole situation.

I would totally be okay with that happening to my grandparents, mother, sister, etc. Most of the people in my family would have either laughyed and drove on through, or more likely exited the car wearing a huge smile and returning fire, so to speak, in a good natured way. Good snowball fights don't grow on trees, don't miss a one.

Mob? IMHO, a group of college students milling about just does not constitute a mob. No one is pegging cars with footballs, no one in that video is acting in a threatening manner nor are they intending to intimidate anyone. Jesus, people are acting like it is Watts during the riots and there are fires burning and gangs of violent looters roaming about trying to hurt people. It is a college campus on a snowy day where class was canceled....who gets all terrified in that situation of some harmless/fluffy snowballs? I'm willing to bet several other drivers laughed and went with the joke prior to this part of the incident.

Are the students blameless? No. They are old enough to be able to read people's cues and if someone driving through is not responding inj a humerous way, hold off for the next driver who gets it and let those that don't just pass on by. The bucket of snow into the car was a bit much also, that goes beyond common sense. 50% blame on the students for not being cognizant that not everyone shares the 19 year world view that everything is funny to everyone. 

Is the professor blameless? No. He should be able to display even a small amount of tolerance and perhaps even a sense of humor and just let college kids be college kids and drive on through. If he really feels the need to throw a wet blanket on things, probably wiser not to immediately exit the car to do so. Were it me, I would proceed out of range, park the car and walk back 100 feet or so and then perhaps try to tell the kids to perhapps cool it or at least be a little selective in their targeting to not get people who don't seem receptive to being pegged by little fluffy bunny snowballs. Getting out of the car to do a 'get off my snow' thing is a 100% invitation to get a face full of fluffy snow. I laughed, especially when he goes up to the smallest, non-involved girl there and starts in on her, very brave. 50% on the professor.

The 'seriousness' being ascribed to the whole thing where we are reading about it/watching it on a Michigan football blog, with names attached to it and player suspensions being handed down, I think is wholly out of proportion to what actually occured. If I were king of the world, a simple, old-fashioned apology might be in order, where whatever students and the professor meet up, shake hands and the students/players say 'Hey, sorry, we got a little out of hand and didn't realize you were upset and took it too far.' The professor says try to think a little bit next time. Professor gets some sideline passes to a game or some other desirable something or other and all is good.

Magnus

December 10th, 2013 at 12:13 PM ^

I know you're not really doing this, but no random citizen has the right to pelt me and my car with snowballs as I drive to work (or the store or the gym or a brothel).

Yes, life would be great if everyone who was wronged just smiled and said "Hey, let's hug it out." People aren't that way. They haven't been that way since the beginning of time; thus the justice system.

The guy supposedly isn't pressing charges. I don't expect him to be happy about being doused with snow, but he doesn't seem to be totally flipping out, either.

College kids are gonna be college kids, sure. But if college kids aren't held accountable for their college actions, then they're not really learning how to be adults. If kids are reprimanded, held out of football games, etc., then so be it. As of now, Pharaoh Brown isn't being sent to jail to get raped by a prison gang, so he can deal with it.

mtzlblk

December 10th, 2013 at 12:34 PM ^

We just have a different definition of 'wronged'.......fluffy, kitty-balls lofted at my car on a snowy day doesn't equal 'wronged' to me. When I get older, I'm more of a 'hey kids, feel free to play on my lawn because it is just grass and that is what it is there for anyway' type of person. You will never catch me yelling at kids in general, much less to save a lawn, speaking metaphorically. This feels a lot like 'get off my lawn!'

I think a lot of people ARE 'that way'...I am. I don't take offense at every little thing in the world and try to live and let live and if there is some sort of situation that needs to be dealt with, you do so simply and without escalating out of proportion with whatever the grievance might have been. Of course, not everyone is like that, hence attributing 50% of the blame on the students for not being more selective and responding poorly to an older guy exiting his car. 

Clearly there should have been better judgement on the part of the kids, but they are 19...kids. They do stuff like that sometimes. Some older people lose sight of the fact that these are kids and I think have a very different threshold for these kinds of hijinx, but they should also remember what it was like to be young....snowballs and poor judgement often ensue on a snowy day. 

Suspensions? Seriousness and furrowed brows and calling it a 'mob', or assault, or an attack? I just disagree wholeheartedly with going there and making poor judgement in some way criminal necessitating missing a bowl game. I think a private apology to the professor, and a whole lot of private running of steps better serves the situation.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 10th, 2013 at 2:20 PM ^

It's hard to claim an entirely private punishment is appropriate when you do something wrong and stupid in front of a lot of people.  One of the lessons to be learned from stupidity is that if you do it publicly, expect to have the consequences (at least somewhat) publicized too.  Goes hand in hand with the punishment.

dRich

December 10th, 2013 at 12:32 PM ^

I honestly didn't mean for this to keep going around and around. I just thought it was silly is all. People really just need to sit back and relax a little. How would this board act if it was Gardner right before the Ohio game? Would you all be ok with him missing the game because of some snow throwing? Just an honest question... We see people get just as upset with this as when Urban Meyer slaps his players on the wrist for more heinous activities. Maybe he should start a firing squad of snow balls for any team rules broken... That would at least be suffice enough for most of you here apparently:/

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 10th, 2013 at 2:13 PM ^

I wish you would stop using trivializing words, like, "some snow throwing" to make it sound like you're being ever so reasonable.  Yes, I'd be OK with Gardner missing the Game if he did what Pharaoh Brown did. 

The fact that you can't figure out the difference between consent and lack of consent is troubling.  It's a very simple concept.

In reply to by dRich

Mr. Carson

December 9th, 2013 at 9:23 PM ^

Yeah, it was snow, but it was also extremely disrespectful behavior.  His view driving was completely obstructed and they wouldn't stop, at which point he got out of the car and was hit in the face with a bucket of snow, lots of which appears to have gotten in his car.  After being clearly and understandly pissed, they still don't stop. 

I'm not saying arrest him, but this was more than just throwing a little snow at a guy.

dRich

December 9th, 2013 at 9:23 PM ^

It's snow guys... It's not like they are throwing rocks. What physical harm was done? He was going 5mph... Just keep driving. Your car takes more damaged driving down a dirt road. I'm not saying the kids weren't being jackass', but come on. Like he didn't know he was going to get pelted with snow balls when he opened the door. This world we live in now is so softer then the snow that was thrown, it's ridiculous. I'm not trying to be "that guy" on MGo that just disputes every comment made, I just think it's kind of silly that kids were suspended from a sports team for throwing snow.