Oregon suspends RB LeGarrette Blount for season
Hyperion
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http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-t25-oregon-blount&prov=ap&type=lgnshttp://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/football/news?slug=ap-t25-oregon-blount&prov=ap&type=lgns
EUGENE, Ore. (AP)—A day after Oregon’s college football season opened, it ended for running back LeGarrette Blount.
Blount was suspended for all remaining games on Friday for punching Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the jaw following the 16th-ranked Ducks’ 19-8 loss to the 14th-ranked Broncos the night before.
Because he is a senior, Blount’s playing days in Eugene are over.
Oregon’s first-year coach, Chip Kelly, told a sobbing Blount about his decision after reviewing tape of the altercation.
Celebrating the victory on the Broncos’ trademark blue turf, Hout yelled in Blount’s face and tapped him on the shoulder pad. Before Boise State coach Chris Petersen could pull Hout away, Blount landed a right to Hout’s jaw, knocking him to his knees.
Blount also had to be restrained by police from fans heckling him on the way to the locker room.
Later he apologized saying, “It was just something that I shouldn’t have done. I lost my head.”
Still, Kelly was taken aback when he saw the punch on tape.
“That’s not what we’re all about. That’s not what we coach. That’s not what we stand for and it’s unacceptable,” he said.
Blount’s suspension includes bowl games. He will remain on scholarship, however, and will continue to practice with the team.
“He is taking this very hard,” Kelly said, choking up. “He understands he made a mistake and he has to pay for the mistake. But we’re not going to throw LeGarrette Blount out on the street.”
EUGENE, Ore. (AP)—A day after Oregon’s college football season opened, it ended for running back LeGarrette Blount.
Blount was suspended for all remaining games on Friday for punching Boise State defensive end Byron Hout in the jaw following the 16th-ranked Ducks’ 19-8 loss to the 14th-ranked Broncos the night before.
Because he is a senior, Blount’s playing days in Eugene are over.
Oregon’s first-year coach, Chip Kelly, told a sobbing Blount about his decision after reviewing tape of the altercation.
Celebrating the victory on the Broncos’ trademark blue turf, Hout yelled in Blount’s face and tapped him on the shoulder pad. Before Boise State coach Chris Petersen could pull Hout away, Blount landed a right to Hout’s jaw, knocking him to his knees.
Blount also had to be restrained by police from fans heckling him on the way to the locker room.
Later he apologized saying, “It was just something that I shouldn’t have done. I lost my head.”
Still, Kelly was taken aback when he saw the punch on tape.
“That’s not what we’re all about. That’s not what we coach. That’s not what we stand for and it’s unacceptable,” he said.
Blount’s suspension includes bowl games. He will remain on scholarship, however, and will continue to practice with the team.
“He is taking this very hard,” Kelly said, choking up. “He understands he made a mistake and he has to pay for the mistake. But we’re not going to throw LeGarrette Blount out on the street.”
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Comments
the hood should never play a game again
he is the epitome of what is wrong with college football
bunch of cretins acting like enraged monkeys
thing.
The scum should have been arrested.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
<< <i>Punishment well-deserved for absolutely appalling behavior by Blount, but the "enraged monkey" comment really is an ignorant one.. >>
Agreed.
it will be interesting to see what the guy who got hit gets, i would say 1 game for the trash talk. the coach on dan patrick said he would discpline his guy and use it as a teaching tool
collecting RAW Topps baseball cards 1952 Highs to 1972. looking for collector grade (somewhere between psa 4-7 condition). let me know what you have, I'll take it, I want to finish sets, I must have something you can use for trade.
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<< <i>for the season sounds about right
it will be interesting to see what the guy who got hit gets, i would say 1 game for the trash talk. the coach on dan patrick said he would discpline his guy and use it as a teaching tool >>
full article indicated that nothing will happen to the taunt-er
<< <i>
<< <i>Punishment well-deserved for absolutely appalling behavior by Blount, but the "enraged monkey" comment really is an ignorant one.. >>
Agreed. >>
I mean how stupid can you be? This is 2009. To say enraged monkey is perhaps the single most ignorant thing I've ever had to read on these boards. Actually, the tone in which some have reacted to this, as if it was the angry black guy reacting to the innocent white guy like an "enraged monkey," has all been very questionable. Why has no blame been given to the BSU player who goaded him into it? Yes he deserves to be suspended for the season and maybe dismissed from the team, but leave the racism where it belongs - nowhere. Punishment fits the crime.
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There are some things you just cannot say, in America; unless you want to be dealt the race card.
Who could forget Howard Cosell's, “Look at the little monkey run,” during Monday Night Football.
Or, Jimmy The Greek's "historical take" on the superiority of black athletes.
No way either of those guys had any racial animosity, but they paid the price for their comments.
/s/ JackWESQ
<< <i>Re Howard Cosell. Did not know about the "monkey" comment. Also, did not know he was a graduate of NYU Law School and a practicing lawyer after serving in WWII. I can just imagine him addressing the court with his "tell-it-like-it-is" approach.
/s/ JackWESQ >>
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For some reason it is always hard for me to describe how
big/famous some oldtime celebs were.
In 1972, the lawyer of Willie Mays gave an interview that
was "the talk of the sports and entertainment nation" for
quite a while.
HC, Esq.
In my book its far from season ending. I would say 4 maybe 5 games max.
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
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After the initial unlawful assault and battery, the scum
punched his own teammate, pushed a trainer, broke
away from a coach, charged a staircase with the intent
to assault and batter numerous paying fans/attendees,
AND was ONLY stopped when the COPS very forcefully
restrained him and removed him from the field.
IF a citizen pulled that nonsense, he would be waiting
for the court to open Monday. At that time, the Judge
would grant the prosecutor's motion to have the perp
"psychologically evaluated," prior to any chats about
bail. 72-hours+ later, the guy might be allowed to make
bail. He would spend THOUSANDS on legal fees, and
be subject to several civil actions that could bankrupt
him.
.........
Sadly, nobody has the guts to be "harsh" with such
thugs. He should have been tossed off the team and
stripped of his scholarship.
Like I said he snapped took a swing at somebody and by the way since you
are throwing the book at him the kid hit him first (tapped him on the shoulder pad, games over you have no right touching anyone).
ON ITS WAY TO NEWPORT BEACH, CA 92658
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Yup.
wiki
Self-Defense:
In most jurisdictions, defense of self or of others is an affirmative defense to criminal charges for an act of violence. It acts to provide complete justification when the degree of violence used is comparable or proportionate to the threat faced,...
..............
John Canzano gets it...........
THUG must GO
That said, Hout should be suspended for a game or two also, as he did initiate physical contact by touching Blount on the shoulder pad while mocking him, which was unacceptable behavior for a scholar-athlete as well.
I don't think you can necessarily compare the outburst of an athlete on the field with that of a private citizen, though. Would you have arrested George Brett for going berserk and charging the umpire during the "pine tar" incident?
Bottom line is no one was really hurt here, but Blount has anger issues that he needs to work on before thinking about playing football. A season-long suspension is harsh, and I doubt he'd have gotten as much if he hadn'ty had the history he did.
Collecting 1970s Topps baseball wax, rack and cello packs, as well as PCGS graded Half Cents, Large Cents, Two Cent pieces and Three Cent Silver pieces.
Remember - things are not always what they SEEM to be. By this I mean that what
seems to be the everyday innocent tap on the shoulder pads most certainly was not
accompanied by the customary, "Nice Game" comment. That's pretty Obvious!
Take a few more looks at those few seconds and pay attention to Hout's face & body language.
To evoke such an immediate reaction from Blount, whatever Hout said most certainly must have
been some real bright, derogatory remark. Hout is by no means some innocent Victim here.
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For weeks, the THUG had been smack-talking to every TV/radio
reporter that would listen to him:
"We owe them an a** whipping for last year,"
was his constant pitch.
The story I got from on the ground folks is that Hout tapped the
THUG on the pad and said something to the effect of,
"Now you owe us two a** whippings."
The THUG then went ballistic AND likely would have gone nuclear
on the fans, IF the COPS had not grabbed him.
............................
Historically, the culture and conduct of the ID team has been
pretty upstanding. There have been some exceptions, but not
many. The harsh reaction in ID is based mostly on the notion
held by most - not all - of the fans that sportsmanship REALLY
IS part of sports.
The subject game was chosen to launch the NCAA-supported
"Sportsmanship Is Friendship" campaign. The opposing teams
lined up and everybody shook hands, before the game began.
................
In the THUG's defense: If I had played as badly as he did - and
if my new coach was not looking so good - I would have felt like
hitting somebody, too. I would NOT have done so, though.
I have NO doubt that the NFL will still be looking at the THUG.
As we all know, they will hire anybody that can sell a few tickets.
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BREAKING...........
Updated: September 6, 2009, 2:05 AM ET
Sources: Blount makes apologies
By Joe Schad
ESPN.com
LeGarrette Blount spent Saturday with Oregon coach Chip Kelly and, as of today, plans to practice with the team and continue attending classes, two people close to the running back told ESPN.com.
At Kelly's suggestion, Blount phoned Boise State coach Chris Petersen Saturday to apologize, an Oregon spokesperson said. And Blount also was able to apologize directly to defensive end Byron Hout, the Boise State player he struck following the Ducks' 19-8 loss to the Broncos on Thursday night.
In order to play this season, Blount would have to transfer to the Division II or III level, according to a person briefed by Oregon's compliance department.
Blount also appears unlikely to appeal for another season or a redshirt, which means his action may have ended his college career.
Joe Schad is a college football reporter for ESPN.
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While I admire CK for trying to not throw the THUG under the bus,
CK really needs to move on and try to fix the REST of his team.
Imagine the grief that CK is feeling. This happens in FRONT of the
whole world AND it's his FIRST game as HC.
No wonder he started to cry; I would too. What freaky terrible bad luck.
(Apparently, CK had NO voice/vote in the "punishment package." If that
is true, I hope he doesn't try to take credit for it just to get folks back on
his side.)
<< <i>Gentlemen, I am very surprised at this rush to Judgement regarding Blount's conduct.
Remember - things are not always what they SEEM to be. . >>
Well, in this case, things are exactly as they seem to be. The thud sucker punched a guy with his helmet off.
That was his conduct. The tape easily reveals that the other guy wasn't looking. The tape also reveals that
the thud was still being a thud after the punch was thrown.
Now let's say you have a guy at work who tells you you stink at your job. Then you get a raise and promotion
and he doesn't. You say something sarcastic to him. He decides when you're not looking to
sucker punch you in the face. Final result, that guy loses his job.
I think Blount got what he deserved.
Hout shouldn't have taunted him after the loss, the score would speak for itself. Blount however went waaaaay off the deep end and simply went into an incredible rage that took several people to control him. Imagine what he might have done had he gotten into the stands! I suspect he'd be facing some form of criminal punishment for assault, if not worse.
He's got plenty of time now to reflect on his stupidity.