Husky hit squad punished?
Published: 9/25/2008 9:37 AM
Last Modified: 9/25/2008 9:37 AM
A reader from Haskell emailed last week to see if I knew of any punishment forthcoming for the Washington Husky hit squad that took out DeMarcus Granger.
I told him I didn't know of any. I expressed my views that while there was serious and obvious intent on the part of the three linemen – left guard Jordan White-Frisbee, center Juan Garcia and right guard Casey Bulyca – to punish Granger (they gang-blocked him off the snap, drove him to the ground and punched him several times in the face), I didn't see an intent to cause injury (other than maybe a bloody nose).
The injury, unfortunately, happened when they blocked Granger backward and he fell on his own foot. Now Granger is out for a month, maybe the season.
But the reader replied back with an email response he got from the Washington athletic department, implying that the three may have received some kind of punishment. Here, in part, is the response of an assistant to UW athletic director Scott Woodward:
"Obviously, we make every attempt to discourage unsportsmanlike behavior by our athletes, coaches and staff. This, we feel, was an isolated incident and is not reflective of the values of our athletics program. The issue is being addressed within the structure of the team and dealt with accordingly."
There is the slimmest of implications there that someone was a bit peeved. One would hope the last line – "being addressed within the structure of the team and dealt with accordingly" – doesn't mean that White-Frisbee, Garcia and Bulyca are getting additional helpings at the player buffet or a golf cart ride to class every day.
– John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
