College Football Twitter Mailbag: LeGarrette Blount Punch Reaction

College football fans had plenty to say about Thursday night's Boise State-Oregon game, which turned ugly afterward when Oregon's LeGarrette Blount responded to a taunt from Boise State's Byron Hout by leveling him with a vicious punch.

Blount is now suspended for the rest of the season, and that led to a lot of interesting questions and comments for my college football Twitter mailbag, which is below.

pudge44: Hout taunted him, but it doesn't matter. Blount's career is probably over.
You tweeted this Friday morning, and Friday afternoon Oregon coach Chip Kelly proved you right. Blount's college football career has come to an end, and he now has to hope some NFL team will pay more attention to his talent than to his troubling behavior.

JasonArmistead: Hout provoked him and should remember if he is going to talk trash to leave his helmet on. Blunt should get KO of night.
You're right, Hout provoked Blount. And I had a high school coach who said players should leave their helmets on in those situations. Players are hot and sweaty after a game and want to get their helmets off, but it's never a bad idea to leave them on until they're off the field.

Most of the feedback I got was from people who think Oregon did the right thing by suspending Blount for the rest of the year:

DamonMartin: Blount got what he deserved. That was a scumbag cheap shot.
bassinlady: I agree with the coach's decision-that's not what it's all about
padrickbrewer: The season-long suspension is a perfect punishment. Doesn't mean that punch wasn't awesome though.
SHUICHIMO: If you're a player and cannot control your anger, you should not play, those things come with the territory
KeithRedd: Absolutely should be banned. A pattern of trouble is a pattern of trouble. He had his chances.
dustinjames: As a hardcore Ducks fan, I have to agree with the punishment. Mainly due to his actions after the punch.
It was totally reprehensible for Blount to punch Hout, but I have mixed feelings about whether or not he really deserved a season-long suspension. Blount is far from the first football player to throw a punch, and I don't recall many others who have been suspended for a full season for one punch.

On the other hand, I see a few differences between the Blount case and other instances of players punching opponents:
1. Blount's punch was on national TV and played on an endless loop on ESPN the next day.
2. Blount didn't just punch Hout; he also shoved a teammate and had to be restrained from going after a Boise State fan.
3. Blount had already been warned during the off-season that he was on thin ice and needed to meet all of his obligations as an Oregon player.

That combination of factors is what led to Blount's banishment. And I heard from some readers who didn't think a one-year suspension went far enough:

mmahotstuff: Totally agree with him getting banned. Frankly he should be arrested for assault.
ArkCowboy: Blount should be prosecuted and not just suspended
This is an interesting issue that several readers raised. In any other work place, if you punch someone from a rival company, you're facing criminal charges. Why is it that in sports, the legal system doesn't get involved?

Finally, let's not forget Hout's role in all this:

yankeesgod2622: Byron Hout had it coming.You don't grab someone and start talking s**t after you just beat them.
I wouldn't go quite so far as to say he had it coming, but he certainly provoked the incident by taunting Blount. I was a little surprised that Boise State didn't suspend Hout for a game to send its own strong message, but I do admire Boise State coach Chris Petersen for acknowledging that Hout was partially to blame.

WatchKalibRun: I think the real culprit is the blue field+blue uniforms. It completely ruins your depth perception!
As Norman Chad would say, Pay the man, Shirley.
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