Should criminal charges be filed for fight during a game?

Sat, 26 June, 2010

Most of the headlines about college football this weekend were about  BYU’s Coleby Clawson’s monster hit on Sam Bradford or the “suckerpunch heard ‘round the Pac-10” from LaGarrette Blount. This past weekend was called “Respect Weekend” by the NCAA in an effort to promote sportsmanship in the first week of the College Football season. One of the goals of Respect Weekend was to have the entire team and staff, meet at midfield before the game for a handshake. No one expected teams to meet at midfield after the game for a slugfest.

Here’s the clip:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8ojSurhmEk

But that’s what fans in Boise got when Boise State University’s Defensive End Byron Hout taunted, and slapped Oregon’s Running Back LaGarrette Blount on the shoulder. As Hout turns away after making a comment to Blount, Blount threw a quick right cross that sent Hout to his knees. Blount wasn’t done yet though. He went on to push his teammates yell at fans, and apparently even tried to get at one of the more vocal Boise fans all the while having to be restrained by multiple teammates and staff.

Punishment came swift for Blount as Oregon’s coach Chip Kelly suspended Blount for the remainder of the season, including the post season. That is, if Oregon can even make it to the post season after looking absolutely anemic against BSU, and now having lost their star running back.

Idaho law under section 18-903 describes the crime of “battery” as,

    “(a)  Willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of

another; or

    (b)  Actual, intentional and unlawful touching or striking of another

person against the will of the other; or

    (c)  Unlawfully and intentionally causing bodily harm to an individual.”

Blount’s actions certainly seem to fit the bill. And as a former prosecutor myself, I can tell you I would’ve have loved to have had high definition footage of any crime I was prosecuting. So why hasn’t the Boise District Attorney brought charges against Mr. Blount? Criminal charges are few and far between for fights on a football field. However, one of the most violent sports, hockey, has a richer tradition of filing charges for acts that crossed the line.

Wikipedia has a great article about incidents in hockey that brought about criminal charges. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_in_ice_hockey

One of the most famous cases was in 2004 when Todd Bertuzzi punched Steve Moore in the back of his head causing “three fractured vertebrae, a grade three concussion, vertebral ligament damage, stretching of the brachial plexus nerves, and facial lacerations”. As the game was played in Canada, British Columbian prosecutors charged Bertuzzi with assault causing bodily harm. Bertuzzi later plead guilty to assault charges and was given one year probation and a conditional discharge. A conditional discharge is similar to a deferred sentence, whereby he can have the charges dismissed if he completed his probationary term satisfactorily.

So what is different about what Blount did and what Bertuzzi did? Isn’t fighting in hockey part of the game? In Blount’s case it was after the game was over, not on the field of play. Was it because it was so clearly a “sucker punch”? Was it because Moore was so badly hurt that charges were filed? Obviously, the decision to whether or not to file charges is up the discretion of the District Attorney, but they do not appear to be forthcoming. Personally, I think Blount has received enough punishment from Oregon by suspending him for the remainder of his senior season. But I also feel strongly that every incident should be reviewed on a case by case basis. Certainly a game does not provide an excuse (or a valid defense) to assault another person. Mr. Blount will certainly feel the far-reaching impact of this punch as his NFL draft stock plummets from not having the opportunity to showcase his talents this year, and as he will now be considered a character risk for any NFL team. So was Respect Week a success? Maybe we should ask LaGarrette Blount, as he seems to have learned the hardest lesson about sportsmanship this week.