NCAA suspensions this year have fueled debates about the appropriate degree of punishment that certain offenses warrant.
There have been two major suspensions this year in college football. The first was Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount for punching a mouthing-off Boise State player, well, in the mouth. And the second was Oklahoma State wide receiver Dez Bryant for lying to the NCAA about meeting with former NFL star Deion Sanders. Both were actions that deserved a degree of punishment. However, the respective penalties made sports fans and commentators alike scratch their heads.
Blount, in his rampage after losing to Boise State in the first week of the season, punched a player, attacked the fans at the game and had to be thrown off the field like an obnoxious drunk kicked out of night club.
The NCAA suspended Blount for the whole season shortly after, and people started talking. Did he deserve that? Some argued he didn’t because the Boise State player got in his face and sparked the aggression. Yet it was an act of violence, and it deserved severe punishment.
And now, eight weeks later, Blount has the opportunity to play the rest of the season for Oregon. Through profusely apologizing and working his guilty behind off to get back on the field, Blount has turned around the initial suspension and might be eligible to play this Saturday.
Bryant was not so lucky. The NCAA ruled that Dez Bryant would not be able to play at all this year for lying. The suspension of a player for lying to the NCAA is totally acceptable. The system is designed to put every player on the same level of competition, and honoring that system is necessary to the legitimacy of college sports. However, a year-long suspension seems as though the whip is being cracked a little hard on a player who was not trying to cheat the system in any way. Yet the system has seemed to say violence can be forgiven, but lying, heavens no.
The NCAA’s rule book is thick, really thick. And anybody who expects these young players to know everything they are allowed to do would also expect Kansas students to know the student handbook by heart. Not likely. The funny thing about Bryant’s case is that his meeting with Sanders would not have resulted in a suspension if he would have told the truth about it. Bryant panicked, not knowing if he had overstepped any boundaries, and then naively lied thinking it would help his chances of playing. Then he apologized. Panic is no excuse for lying to authorities.
For now, Bryant is meeting with attorneys to try to figure out a way to get his feet back on the grass, but nothing has developed yet. His nonviolent, yet immature mistake will cost him his last year of college football, as scouts expect him to enter the NFL Draft.
— Edited by Lauren Cunningham
Big 12 teams fight through injuries
Oklahoma and Oklahoma State overcome sidelined players.
Toland: No way to tell who's really ...
The most interesting match ups in college basketball won't see the court ...
Morning Brew: Thursday night football
Montemayor suggests games to watch to tide students over until Kansas football ...
Goble: Small schools deserve a chance
Non-BCS schools are ranked too low in preseason polls.
Morning Brew: Big 12 football’s best of ...
The Kansan takes a look back at the Big 12 and the ...
Carpenter: Players deserve quick eligibility ruling
Players unnecessarily hang in limbo waiting for rulings from the NCAA.
Morning Brew: Sugar and spice? Not this ...
Women athletes are just as likely as men to get too rough ...
Briscoe declares for NFL draft
After consulting his mother and staff members, the wide receiver decides to ...
KU doesn't echo NCAA's tough stance on ...
A positive drug test with the NCAA results in a one-year suspension. ...
Widower librarian shares wife's KU legacy
Roesler: Collins tops college basketball
Sherron Collins' experience, leadership and talent makes him the best college basketball ...
Roesler: The game is losing its grit
Football players and coaches can’t lose the roughness that made the sport ...
Morning Brew: Paid collegiate athletes? Not likely
There are too many uncertainties to advocate paying student-athletes through their college ...
Intriguing games on slate for Big 12
Oklahoma, Baylor face Pac-10 foes while Iowa prepares for in-state showdown
Morning Brew: The BCS is a sham
Placing TCU and Boise State against each other in the Humanitarian Bowl ...
Morning Brew: NCAA should punish coach
Former Memphis basketball coach John Calipari, NCAA rules at fault in test ...
Roadblocks to redemption
Brew: Fiesta Bowl no longer deserves BCS ...
The Cotton Bowl should rejoin the BCS after inappropriate actions of Fiesta ...
Coach starts small to dream big
Coach Ritch Price reflects on his experiences throughout the years that led ...
Briscoe declares for NFL draft
Record-breaking receiver declares intentions of going pro during Friday press conference
Big 12 Media Day: Overview of Big ...
See how next Football seasons looks before it starts.
Nation’s weekend pigskin roundup
TEASE
Dick Vitale talks Northern Iowa, March Madness
The ESPN college basketball analyst speaks in Topeka as part of Washburn ...
Provost to be appointed Oregon president
Richard Lariviere was named the finalist for the University of Oregon’s search ...
Provost may leave University for Oregon
The University of Oregon in Eugene has named Provost Lariviere as a ...
Roesler: Three ‘Hawk Heisman’ hopefuls
If Kansas had any hope of a Heisman, it would go to ...
Morning Brew: Sports is a mad, mad, ...
ESPN's new advertising campaign points out the absurdities of the sporting scene.
Roesler: Kansas needs to play like underdogs
The talent is spread across college football, so determination can level the ...
Student athletes' discipline in question
The University is investigating potential violations of the Student Code of Conduct.
Player sues for Title IX violation
Former football sues University for not letting him play another year of ...
Degrees of success: athletes after college
College athletes' payment is their degree. But what if they never get ...
Executive Committee votes to uphold Porte’s suspension
President’s ability to remove executive staff members one of the issues debated.
Kansas appreciates well-deserved bowl bid
Hawk coaches, players, fans happy to be Orange Bowl-bound
Overheard: October 26, 2007
These are some comments overheard for this weekend's games
Bern & Wiebe: Girls’ basketball needs 'mercy ...
A recent high school game that ended in a 100-0 victory demonstrates ...
Kealing: NCAA taking necessary step
These new rules would not only protect players from “overzealous coaches,” it ...
Morning Brew: With college, comes amateur drama
Josh Selby isn't the only athlete with troubles — just look at ...
Albom critics should ease up
Roesler: Fans show support at UTEP
Jayhawk faithful make up for home crowd’s low attendance in El-Paso.
Overworked students' dangerous race against time
Is too much work and too little time putting students' health at ...

Kansas Jayhawk fans hold aloft a reproduction of ...
2 comments
Erin Saupe, a Ph.D. student from St. Cloud, ...
1 comment
0 comments
Armed robbers continue to threaten.
3 comments
KUnited presidential candidate Libby Johnson and vice presidential ...
1 comment
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID