UGA RB: He didn't gouge my eyes
by falcontom on Nov 3, 2009 9:53 PM EST
37 comments
I'm guessing I won't be receiving an apology any time soon from everyone who immediately assumed that Spikes was trying to permanently blind somebody out on the field. Keep on hating though, the Gators need the motivation to make it down the final stretch.
Link to story
Some thought that Florida Coach Urban Meyer was too lenient in the suspension he gave to linebacker Brandon Spikes for trying to gouge the eyes of Georgia running back Washaun Ealey Saturday.
Not Ealey.
He said this afternoon that he doesn’t even think that Spikes should have to sit out the first half of the Gators’ game against Vanderbilt Saturday.
“That didn’t really matter to me,” Ealey said. “That’s their decision. I think he shouldn’t have gotten suspended at all. We were just out there playing football.”
The SEC accepted Florida’s discipline of Spikes for his action after a play in Florida’s 41-17 victory. The incident has received national attention and much criticism.
Ealey said Spikes didn’t get to his eyes.
“I had my eyes closed,” Ealey said. “He really didn’t gouge my eyes. …I was just trying to get up as fast as I can.”
Ealey even posted an update on his Facebook page to let friends know that he was fine.
“I just said that my eyes were OK,” He said .”It was 20-20. He didn’t really get my hands close to my eyes.”
The game had its share of personal fouls and chippy moments between the teams.
On Georgia's second drive, Spikes used his helmet to hit Ealey on the helmet after
a Georgia penalty. Ealey pushed Spikes back and poked his hand under the chin strap of Joe Haden
CBS cameras also caught Nick Williams blasting Tebow late long after he handed the ball off on a running play.
“It was just a lot of emotion in the game,” Ealey said. “We were out there fighting. It was a big rivalry game. Everybody was talking trash back and forth.”
A FanPost gives the opinion of the fan who writes it and that fan only. That doesn't give the opinion more or less weight than any other opinion on this blog, but the post does not necessarily reflect the view of TSK's writers.
0 recs |
37 comments
Email
Print
Comments
He didn't gouge his eyes
It’s those pesky facemasks. They always get in the way. Every single time I want to gouge somebody’s eyes out, they just seem to get in the way. Can’t I just rip another man’s eyes out of the sockets every now and again without that rugged plastic impediment? Is that too much to ask?
________________________________
Eric Berry is better at football than you.
by kidbourbon on Nov 4, 2009 1:13 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Just out of curiousity
What was he trying to do, if not damage him? I mean, just because he “didn’t reach my eyes” doesn’t mean the intent wasn’t there. That’d be like saying “Oh, he shot me, but the bullet missed so we’re cool.” I think it’s more that football players in general do dirty stuff like this; it’s commonplace rather than the exception. But that doesn’t make it “okay” in my book.
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Nov 4, 2009 3:07 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
All this does is confirm that Spikes didn’t manage to gouge Ealey’s eye, which was never in question. It says nothing about the intentions. Yeah, we know, no one knows his intentions. But, the video shows Spikes’ hand inside Ealey’s facemask, neither gripping the facemask nor the helmet. So, what was he trying to do? The circumstantial evidence isn’t damning, but he was obviously doing something that warranted a suspension. What could he have been doing?
by dxf04 on Nov 4, 2009 2:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs
who cares?
he was clearly doing something suspension-worthy. he was clearly not trying TO PERMANENTLY BLIND a man, according to Ealey. he was suspended. he apologized. Ealey manned up. some fans like yourself have yet to.
by falcontom on Nov 4, 2009 2:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Ealey "manned up"?
What does that mean? Are you saying he would have been a coward if he had said “yeah, Spikes went for my eyes, but missed”? Ealey didn’t say Spikes wasn’t trying to gouge, only that he didn’t actually manage to get a finger in his eye. For someone who wants everyone to stop talking about this, you sure have a weird way of showing it.
by dxf04 on Nov 4, 2009 2:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
You make my point every time you post.
Keep it up.
by falcontom on Nov 4, 2009 3:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
What point would that be?
That you’re not going to agree with anyone who thinks any Florida player did anything wrong.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
by cocknfire on Nov 4, 2009 5:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Did you even read the post I made before the one I commented on? The one where I said “he was clearly doing something suspension-worthy”? I’ve been upset by the bullcrap righteous indignation ever since this started. I never said he did nothing wrong, I even said what I said above many, many times. My problem is you and everyone else saying a bunch crap like ‘Spikes could be convicted of aggravated assault’ and ‘he could have permanently blinded him’ and that that was what he wanted and intended. And now that the facts have come out that Spikes isn’t the mindless thug everyone has made him out to be, I’m still reading this bull from you and dxf04 and every other Gator Hater. It’s pathetic.
by falcontom on Nov 4, 2009 5:22 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I don't know
How many people have really made Brandon Spikes out to be a “mindless thug.” Certainly no one in this thread, or the posts that I’ve read on TSK — some people at RBR said that, but I respectfully disagree. One dirty action doesn’t make you a thug. You do, however, seem to be taking comments that some people have said and are turning them into very, very broad generics. I mean, I might not be a world-class reader but firefox’s search feature tells me that you’re the only one to use “aggravated assault” on this thread.
What I take more issue with is the light punishment that he’s received. Do you think Spikes would have been suspended at all if CBS didn’t catch the action and comment on it?
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Nov 4, 2009 6:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
this isn’t the first thread on this subject on this board. and apparently Spikes’ now volunteered to sit the whole game and Meyer agreed.
by falcontom on Nov 4, 2009 6:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Which
I note as a very, very classy thing to do for Brandon Spikes. Good NC boy right there :-)
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Nov 4, 2009 7:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
I never said Spikes was a mindless thug
And if you want to call me a Gator hater, it’s clear you haven’t been reading the blog very close for very long. Which is cool; we’ve seen a lot of growth and new readers in the last few months. But I can point you to countless threads where other fans have accused me of being pro-Gator. Again, all of that’s fine; as a professional journalist, I’m accused of being unfair to both sides of an issue. It’s wrong when it happens in that case, and it’s wrong now.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
by cocknfire on Nov 5, 2009 10:48 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Try rereading my post, slowly this time.
I don’t say you called him a mindless thug. I did quote you as saying crap like Spikes “could be convicted of aggravated assault,” which was just the tip of the iceberg of inanity you were spouting on this topic, and which you simply sidestepped in your “I get heat from both sides!” response. And if you want to cling to a “professional journalist” label, try doing some research on what assault actually is before throwing around garbage like your jury analysis on the other Spikes thread.
by falcontom on Nov 7, 2009 11:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Since you're the expert on assault
Why can’t that be construed as assault? I’m legitimately asking and would prefer a straight answer.
by dxf04 on Nov 8, 2009 1:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
There's a well-founded fear requirement
Assault requires there to be “a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent”; Ealey’s comments along the lines of “this is just football,” not even mentioning it in the post-game interview, and popping up right away and playing on the next play all strongly suggest that he had no “well-founded fear.” Now, if this happened off the football field, there may be a case for battery from the unwanted touching, but with all of the back-and-forth chippiness going on, there would probably be a counter-charge on Ealey. But all this hypothesizing just emphasizes how stupid this debate really is. Literally every single play in football would have some sort of criminal or tortious offense if it happened off the football field.
by falcontom on Nov 8, 2009 2:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The well-founded fear requirement
only applies to threats by word or act to do violence, per Statue 784.011 (the one that you quoted). Are you saying that since tackling isn’t a crime on the football field, yet would be one off of it, an alleged eye-gouge shouldn’t be a big deal?
by dxf04 on Nov 8, 2009 3:25 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Careful reading isn't your strong suit
It requires “doing some act” that creates the “well-founded fear” as well. And that’s clearly not what I’m saying, thanks for asking. I said that debating about the legality of on-field acts is stupid. It’s doubly so when “professional journalists” don’t do their homework.
by falcontom on Nov 8, 2009 7:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
That's not was Statute 748.011 says.
But since you’re unable to discuss something without resorting to questioning someone’s reading ability (seriously, how many times are you going to use that gem?) in an attempt to make yourself look smarter, I’ll leave it at that.
by dxf04 on Nov 8, 2009 8:21 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
But the comment I made
was directly in response to someone’s saying some other act on the field (I can’t remember which one) would have been considered assault off of the field and was therefore worse than what Spikes did. So you can’t throw that back up in my face by saying it “emphasizes how stupid this debate really is,” because I’m not the one that injected that into the debate.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
by cocknfire on Nov 8, 2009 3:34 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The other "on the field" act was the Blount punch*
None of this is really a response to my criticism, which was about quite a bit more than just that one response. On the other hand, maybe “professional journalist” is a suitable moniker, as you were quite willing to follow down the road that Pat Forde and Dan Wetzel, talented “professional journalists” that they are, paved for you.
*Which, while technically “on the field,” was after the game. And if you want to be technical about it, the punch was battery, but so was the Boise State player’s push on Blount. Then again, Blount did try to run into the stands to attack BSU fans as well, which would probably fit the legal definition of assault (easy way to remember difference between assault and battery is that an assault is a failed battery and a battery is a failed assault). All of which I wouldn’t be bringing up, except for the fact that you continue to dig your heels in and insist that your coverage and commentary of this has somehow been even-handed since you get it from “both sides.”
by falcontom on Nov 8, 2009 7:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Not this
My intent was not to say that the commentary on this in specific has been even-handed. (Which, btw, commentary is not supposed to be even-handed; that’s why it’s commentary and not straight news.) My point was that overall, I think the site is fair on the whole and I’m not some sort of relentless Florida hater. But my commentary hasn’t been even-handed on this particular matter because I have an opinion. Which is why this is a blog and not a straight news site.
And I don’t follow down anyone’s path.
Have you considered that maybe there’s a reason that “most everyone else” disagrees with you? Maybe you’re seeing this as a Florida fan, which is how you should?
With that, I’m done. We’ve beat this argument to death and the story is now a week old and I’m frankly tired of discussing it unless something new comes up.
We have a difference of opinion, something that’s fine with me and should be easy to accept.
Team Speed Kills. All SEC, all the time.
by cocknfire on Nov 8, 2009 10:40 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The reason I keep hammering at this, by the way...
Is that I’m a big fan of the site, and have been reading it since last December. I think you and year2 provide some of the best coverage of the SEC that’s available online, but on this controversy I think you (and most everyone else, in your defense) went completely overboard.
by falcontom on Nov 8, 2009 7:56 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
So what you're saying
Is that he was only trying to hurt Ealey’s eyes, not blind him? Do you really think that makes sense? I doubt his intention was to permanently blind the guy, I’ll admit that, but that doesn’t mean that his actions might not have resulted in that. It’s like saying “Me and my friend were playing with guns, and the gun I was holding went off and shot the guy, I swear I didn’t mean it!” — just because you didn’t want to cause permanent damage to someone is no excuse, you shouldn’t be doing whatever could cause that anyways.
And don’t even try to say “When you play football, you run that risk.” You do run that risk, but that’s from the course of the game. Trying to eye-rake someone has no spot in Football, period.
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Nov 4, 2009 4:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
The Treachery of Images, indeed
That’d be a nice name for this whole affair.
You do realize that painting supports falcontom’s argument, right?
It might look like a pipe, and many people might think it’s a pipe, but it’s actually just a representation of a pipe, with your imagination to make the jump from appearance to reality.
by wangalusa on Nov 5, 2009 10:47 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Not necessarily...
You’re reading the image/post as you want to read it. I meant to post this in the other thread (notice the time of the post.) I’m saying that Spikes’ “self-suspension” really doesn’t even appear to be that much about him being sorry, but about him wanting to not distract his teammates. Nowhere in the article linked to is their an apology by Meyer or Spikes. Everything they talk about is about is negative things “out there” and not being a distraction to the team and what’s best for Florida.
by Nico2.0 on Nov 5, 2009 3:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
So you think they should apologize twice?
Or how about every word out of Spikes’ mouth for the rest of his career should be an apology for this B.S., blown-out-of-proportion fiasco.
Spikes already apologized once and Meyer expressed his disapproval.
And just admit it, you don’t have the first clue what Magritte meant with that work. You just thought it would make some clever ironic commentary. It’s not about irony, it’s about semiotics.
by wangalusa on Nov 5, 2009 7:26 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Is Urban Meyer's Dissapproval
“You’re thutch a bad bad boy, Brandon Thpikes. Go an thit down for a few playths and I’ll thpank you when we’re alone, naughty naughty man.”
I mean, seriously, I’ve seen plenty of Florida fans cite “private discipline” by Urban Meyer as a fully justifiable reason to only suspend Brandon Spikes for half a game. What I don’t think they get is the fact that public punishments are completely necessary because it sets a standard for the action, an image for your coach, and sends a message to all the other players out there that, in the end, the action really isn’t acceptable. By giving as light a public sentencing for Brandon Spikes, Urban Meyer was, in essence, condoning the action itself.
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Nov 6, 2009 11:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
You're not even making sense anymore.
Seriously, this is like performance art.
by wangalusa on Nov 6, 2009 11:37 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
You could careless
about the player, this rant is only about you hating the Gators. I dont know how many times I have seen your comments against the Gators, but any other team…not so much.
by Hook85 on Nov 7, 2009 3:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs
How many times have I bashed Florida?
No, really, I’d love to hear quotes. I’m on record as saying Tim Tebow is the best QB to play in the SEC this decare easilly, one of the greatest all time, and that I do respect Florida’s football teams. I’ve not cheered for bodilly harm to ex-gators playing in the NFL, held a wonderful discussion with a big-time Florida fan in my English class last week, and am certainly on the record as saying that I don’t think Urban Meyer disciplined Brandon Spikes enough in this case.
Man, I’m such a hater. It’s a rivalry, it’s nothing more, really. I don’t hate Florida for winning National Championships, I don’t hate Florida for being better right now than Tennessee. I hate Florida because it’s a rivalry. And because it’s a geographically challenged yankee state ;-)
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Nov 9, 2009 1:54 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
geographically challenged yankee state ;-)
theres on quote without even having to look. haha
by Hook85 on Nov 10, 2009 4:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Or how about every word out of Spikes’ mouth for the rest of his career should be an apology for this B.S., blown-out-of-proportion fiasco.
No I don’t think every word out of his mouth forever more should be an apology. Nor do I consider him a career thug or a degenerate. He did a thuggish thing though, and he got caught doing it, which is naturally going to raise a ruckus.
As someone that’s played sports at a fairly high level, I understand that a lot of retribution goes on on the field (and stuff that’s not retribution, but is just plain mean) and that many fans are clueless about it. Granted, I played soccer, but I’ve had all sorts of things done to me during games: punched in the nuts, foot stomped, scratched, punched, kicked, cleated and some things even worse…not to mention having everything under the sun said to me. People that think this kind of stuff doesn’t go on in every game are delusional and naive. That being said, if one gets caught doing it, there’s going to be consequences.
I’ll admit that after going back and re-reading some of the quotes and comments about it that I probably interpreted some of them wrongly the first time (in my defense, I was reading in a very distracting environment.) I’m more than willing to admit that.
And just admit it, you don’t have the first clue what Magritte meant with that work. You just thought it would make some clever ironic commentary. It’s not about irony, it’s about semiotics.
Given my above statements about reconsidering Spikes’ and Meyer’s statements, then my original intent of using that image doesn’t hold true anymore. I was using it as a “things aren’t always as they seem” type of thing. I wasn’t going for hipster irony or anything. I have a handle on what the painting is about and no it didn’t perfectly describe the situation I was insinuating, but a little imagination didn’t make it a far stretch to use it in that way either.
by Nico2.0 on Nov 6, 2009 11:20 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
He wasn't eye-gouging.
He was trying to steal the dude’s contacts!
What you're seeing is team spirit. It's like the Holy Spirit, but more powerful.
-Hank Hill
by Zoltar on Nov 8, 2009 9:25 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
Ealey is not making a big deal out of this incident,
he is not whining or wanting pity. I wish everyone else would take the higher road, and let it go.
" If you're going to be accused of something, being accused of being a nice guy is not the worst thing to be accused of."
Mark Richt (November 3, 2009)
by HEYJUDE on Nov 11, 2009 1:17 AM EST reply actions 0 recs
It's not the victim's job
To “make a big deal” about something.
Tennessee Fans: We win at teh Internet!
by bobo_the_vol on Nov 12, 2009 1:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Certain photos copyright © 2010 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
