Florida Punishes Spikes For One-Half Of Vandy Game, SEC Accepts Ruling

This is one of those incidents that had to marinate in my head. I couldn’t wrap my mind around this one at first.

This incident is just awful. There is no excuse for this type of action. I understand the old school football mentality but that is long out the window. Bill Romanowski is long retired, there is not longer a need for pulling hair, twisting fingers and groin shots in the pile.

I have always said that basketball and football players have gotten a bit softer in the last decade or two. I have to assume some correlation with the new found riches that these players have found over this time period.

I guess the money changed ‘em.

The most shocking part of this is not even the incident it is the punishment. Florida announced that Spikes would serve a suspension during the FIRST HALF of the Gators November 7th game against Vanderbilt. Wow, harsh.

Vandy has yet to win an SEC game this year. Through us a bone and make the kid sit for the whole game. Is that really an over the top reaction for me to have?

I figured that the SEC might have something to say about this slap on the wrist… let’s see…

“The Southeastern Conference has reviewed and accepted the disciplinary actions taken by the University of Florida regarding football student-athlete Brandon Spikes. The university suspended Spikes for the first half of its next game (vs. Vanderbilt, Nov. 7) for an unsportsmanlike act during the Gators’ last game (vs. Georgia, Oct. 31).”

Really? We are okay with this?

For me this is worse than the Blount incident with Boise State. For one, Blount was provoked. Secondly, the guy he assaulted at least had some chance of defending himself where Spikes victim was completely helpless. Sure the yare both wrong but Spikes actions rub me the wrong way a whole lot more.

I want to thank the Oregon athletic department for at the very least pretending to be harsh with their punishment. The SEC looks like either they are soft on these disciplinary issues OR they favor Florida that much more than many people already thought.

SEC accepts Florida’s punishment of Spikes [ESPN]