The State of Discipline in the College Arena

I have something more to consider for three weeks from now.…

You see, I tend to root for Boise State in college football. I believe that they (along with Utah) are ideally representative of the discrepancy between the six conferences that get automatic bids to BCS bowl games and the five conferences in the “FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision” of Division I college football that do not. Three years ago, Boise State ended up the year as the only undefeated team in the FBS, having defeated Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl, while also soundly defeating Oregon State (which was the only team pre-UCLA to beat USC when USC was discussed as a potential candidate for the championship game before losing to its cross-town rivals). Yet, Boise State did not win the championship; Florida (after defeating Ohio State in the championship game) did. While some actually tried to argue that Boise State was a winner in the BCS system that year because they got the opportunity to play in a BCS Bowl, I would argue and have argued that those very arguments are excellent examples to illustrate one type of hegemony. It’s a case of excluding or marginalizing someone and then arguing, quite the opposite, that those who have been excluded or marginalized have actually been treated quite well (they’re “winners,” after all). I still to this day argue that Boise State was cheated out of their opportunity, and I look forward to them and other schools from the WAC, MAC, MWC, Conference-USA, and Sun Belt running the table and showing again and again that they deserve fairer consideration.

And this year Boise State may again be the team to do it. They’re certainly getting buzz as such a team. Yet, in three weeks, my interest in seeing them run the table will be tested. On September 26, Boise State will visit my alma mater (and current employer) Bowling Green State University, and I am planning to take my soon-to-be-ten-year-old nephew to the game. I started a tradition of taking him to football games last year, getting him a membership in the Falcon Kids Club (see here if you’re interested), which gives him free admittance to most BGSU sporting events, along with a tee-shirt, birthday card from mascot Freddie Falcon, and membership card. I’m hoping he’ll develop a loyalty to the Falcons (which I think he is) and, perhaps, even come to school here someday. (NOTE TO BGSU ADMINISTRATION: Please see this as one of the many things I’m doing and willing to do to promote enrollment.) We went to see Eastern Michigan-BGSU for a football game last year. We’re planning on at least the Boise State-BGSU game this year.

So, I’m planning to be at the game, but I have to recognize the dilemma that I face by this game. I am, after all, going to root for BGSU. They are the team I follow and support. Yet, if BGSU wins, it destroys Boise State’s undefeated season (assuming it’s still intact when they play each other). I’ll still be pulling for the Falcons to win. (Indeed, maybe BGSU can run the table, though I doubt they’d get the same respect as Boise State if they did, even though the Falcons’ schedule isn’t necessarily an easy one). It seems, though, that after last night, I have one more reason to root against Boise State….

Last night, while working on various things here at home, I listened to the BGSU Falcons defeat Troy on 88.1 WBGU—one of the two campus radio stations here in Bowling Green (and, by the way, kudos to Pat Dougherty and Anthony Bellino from BGRSO on the call). Then, I watched the Boise State-Oregon game on ESPN, which Boise State won to begin its trek toward another undefeated season. I looked up from my work long enough to see the game end, then turned my attention back to my computer screen. When I looked up again, the cameras were following Oregon player LeGarrette Blount, who was being restrained and led off the field by coaches and teammates while he appeared to be yelling back and forth with some Boise State fans who were in the stands. As I later saw on replay, after what appeared to be some verbal exchanges from Boise State’s Byron Hout, Blount punched Hout in the jaw and knocked him to the ground, before being restrained and led out by coaches and teammates. ESPN’s post-game coverage was dominated by this event, from what was shown on-camera to what the announcers discussed to the very first question the sideline reporter asked winning head coach Chris Peterson. ESPN.com’s coverage of the game has also been dominated by the event. Today, the headline for the game coverage read “Punched Out: Oregon's LeGarrette Blount lost his cool Thursday and he might lose more. Should he be punished?” You can even click on that headline and see a replay of what happened between Blount and Hout. The official recap of the game also leads with the post-game event, using the title “Postgame punch mars No. 14 Boise State's commanding win over No. 16 Oregon.” It is then this theme, not the game itself, that dominates much of the recap, with one line even claiming that “Blount’s actions took away” from Boise State celebrating its victory.

Yet, there’s something awfully revealing buried in that recap. To the side of the recap you can click on a photo of fans watching Blount punch Hout on the scoreboard screen at Boise State’s stadium. My question here is “How did the fans know to even heckle Blount as he was being led out?” The answer: they knew because the folks at Bronco Stadium were making sure they saw it happen … repeatedly.

So, here’s the deal. Yes, Blount did something inappropriate. (Though, the context of the sporting event is part of the equation here. A punch like Blount’s would have been business as usual in many a hockey game.) It appears that there’s going to be some disciplinary action taken against Blount, and my point, at this juncture at least, is not to comment on what is or isn’t appropriate disciplinary reaction (as certainly plenty of media members have, like here and here). I do, though, want to comment on who is being discussed as deserving of disciplinary action. Yes, Blount threw the punch, but for what reasons did the folks at Bronco Stadium repeatedly show it on the scoreboard? It certainly seems to have exacerbated the situation by stirring up the fans, who then engaged with Blount as he was led off the field. I would have a hard time believing the Bronco Stadium folks didn’t realize that might happen.

This is then a rather blatant example (among many in American culture, in sports and out of sports) in which individual transgressions are analyzed, discussed, highlighted, emphasized, condemned, and utilized as the basis for discipline, yet institutional and organizational transgressions, including the ways in which organizations and institutions contribute to violence and inappropriate action, not only go without discipline, but also go without critique or even attention.

So, I’m trying to think of ways to try to draw attention to institutional and organizational culpability. My initial thought is that I might make a sign or a tee-shirt or something for the BGSU-Boise State game that reads something like “Welcome Broncos … to a stadium that doesn’t incite fans to provoke violence.” Maybe, though, that kind of technique would just contribute to the problem by being a kind of provocation itself. That is, of course, the dilemma of so much critique—even the means of critique end up, at least to some degree, reinforcing the problem. Yet, maybe, something like this could register in some folks’ minds and at least be a small step to addressing the issue. And, maybe, I’d not only be teaching my nephew to root for the Falcons, I’d also be teaching him some critical thinking skills. Who knows? I’m not sure if I’m going to do anything and, if so, what I will do, but at least I do know I have one more reason to cheer on my alma mater….