Good for Oregon! (And Boo on the NFL!)

The Oregon Ducks suspended a player for the whole season yesterday.

As you'll see in the article, LeGarrette Blount was suspended for the season and the post season after he punched a Boise State player after the game. Blount was heckled and his team was upset by the lower ranked team. He lost his temper (and apparently not for the first time) and punched another man in the face hard enough to knock him to his knees. Now he's not going to be playing for the season or the post season. They're keeping him on scholarship, and he can come back next year, but he's losing a full year in the spotlight.

Was this a good punishment? I think so. He's a repeat offender with a hair trigger for violence. He was threatening players, coaches, fans, and police. Football is a physical sport and there are many times in a football game when you are allowed to hit people, but after the whistles have blown is not one of them.

If there is a connection between the actions a player takes when not "in the game" and the consequences he should face in his career, then how does this reflect on the NFL's decision to allow Michael Vick back on the field and the Philadelphia Eagles' decision to hire him?

Granted, the actions taken and the player's proximity to the game and the level of play are all different. Does that matter, though? Let's see how these things line up.

Michael Vick:	LeGarrette Blount:
Funded a dog fighting group.	Punched a guy in the face.
Bought land and facilities for this group to "train" dogs.	Menaced some fans/coaches/cops.
Made t-shirts to advertise or represent this dog fighting team.
Knew that dogs were being tortured.
Knew that dogs were being killed in terrible ways.
Participated in the killing of dogs in terrible ways.

Vick is back in the NFL and back to earning millions of dollars after spending 2 years in prison.
Blount is not allowed to play football, but he's allowed to stay at the school and he's allowed to practice with the team.
What do you think about these situations?