Spikes Should Have Gotten A Full-Game Suspension

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Just a few thoughts on Brandon Spikes’ one-half suspension for trying to poke Georgia’s Waushaun Ealey in the eye:

1.  I told an emailer this morning that I expected the suspension to be for one half.  Eye-pokes occur all the time in football.  So do fishhooks to the mouth, punches to the groin, intentional twists of bum ankles, and numerous other nasty actions that are never caught on tape.  I’m not defending it, I’m just saying that among football folks, eye-pokes aren’t unheard of.  Which is why I expected a half-game suspension.

2.  I didn’t expect Mike Slive to act on this matter because it’s an in-game issue.  In-game issues are usually handled by the schools and teams.  If someone had been injured — which they very well could have been as a result of so classless an act — I think the league office would have stepped in.

3.  There will be a lot of talk about Slive’s willingness to suspend officiating crews and coaches compared to his apparent unwillingness to punish a player.  There’s a good bit of logic to that, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Slive let this one pass BECAUSE of the publicity he and the league have gotten in the past few weeks.  Perhaps — and this is a guess — it’s better from Slive’s perspective for the school to handle this one rather than him.  If he had to get into another disciplinary mess it might have set him up as the collegiate version of Roger Goodell.  And I’m not sure Slive wants the reputation as chief lawman.  I’m quite certain, in fact, that he’d prefer not to have to discipline anyone.  His track record has not been one of handed down suspensions of fines.  Only recently has he had to resort to such disciplinary actions.

4.  Any non-Florida fan bemoaning the leniency of Urban Meyer’s penalty need to take a deep breath, remember their own school’s past transgressions and penalties, and then zip it up.  There have been instances in this conference where starters and backups have been handed completely different sentences for taking part in the exact same illegal acts.  I wasn’t surprised by Meyer’s actions.  I’ve seen it time and again from several SEC coaches past and present.

5.  Florida fans who try to say that this is small potatoes need to be equally quiet.  Had a Georgia player been caught on tape doing what Spikes did, Florida talkshows and websites would be flooded with Gator fans calling for justice.  Your guy made an ass of himself — regardless of the reason — and he got off a little light in most folks’ views.  So don’t make it worse by trying to spin it.  He did it.  Don’t defend him.  Move on.

6.  If it were me making the call on this one, Spikes would get a one-game suspension and be made to apologize on camera to Ealey.  Maybe he was retaliating for someone trying to poke HIS eyes — as Meyer said — but that doesn’t make Spikes’ actions any less obnoxious.  Florida should have handed him a full-game suspension.