Does Youtube Affect Discipline in College Athletics?
If a violent incident is caught on tape and made available to the public, does it affect the degree of disciplinary action taken. There are some cases where it sure seems that way.
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This is seemingly the age when almost all of our actions in public are caught on video. Whether it is a security camera or just someone with a video camera, there is footage of almost everything you can imagine. YouTube has millions of video clips and millions of viewers watching them every day. But does a video clip affect our judgement of a situation? It seems that sometimes it does.
On 9/3/09 University Of Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount struck a player from Boise State after their game. This incident was caught on video and played on almost every network. It became an overnight sensation on YouTube. Viewers were outraged by this incident and rightfully so. There was no justification for his actions. The university dismissed the player from the team and his collegiate career is over.
On 9/20/09 a somewhat similar but less publicized event also occurred. University Of New Mexico head football coach Mike Locksley struck assistant coach J.B. Gerald in the face during a heated confrontation at a coaches meeting. A police report stated that the assistant coach received a busted lip. The university issued a verbal warning and a written letter of reprimand was placed in his file.
Does public opinion affect the discipline of such incidents? Should a player be dismissed and a coach only be given a warning? The latter incident happened behind closed doors. There was no video of the altercation to be broadcast on the news. There was no clip to be uploaded to YouTube for millions to see. Was the latter episode an attempt to sweep it under the rug? Only the parties involved can answer that question.
