Bull riding extreme fail!

Willie Williams Redux

Remember Willie Williams?  Back in the day (2004), he was a high school linebacker being heavily recruited by the likes of Florida, Florida State and Miami.  All of a sudden, his juvenile arrest record came to light after he was arrested for hugging a girl without her permission (seriously) while on a campus visit to Gainesville, and the debate over character vs. talent began.  Miami president Donna Shalala vouched for his character, all but declaring him misunderstood, and Williams enrolled at Miami.

Fast-forward five years.  Williams has drifted through the athletic departments of Miami, Louisville, Glenville State and Union College.  And he was just arrested again.   By my count, this means this misunderstood kid has been arrested at LEAST 15 times.

Last night, college football season started, and after South Carolina beat NC State in what appeared to be a high school JV game, Boise State hosted Oregon on their smurf turf (the field at Boise is blue).  Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount said the following before the game:

“We owe that team an ass-whuppin’.”

Clearly that rout didn’t materialize, as Boise State defeated Oregon 19-8 in a sloppy, turnover-filled mess of a game.  After the game, Boise State player Byron Hout sauntered up to Blount to give him flak about his pregame trash talk.  What’s a pissed off running back to do?

Cold-cock Hout, of course. 

So why the Willie Williams reference?  Well, folks, it seems as though the two have a bit in common - a troubled history where character issues were glossed over because of flashy athletic potential and the promise of BCS glory:

Blount has returned from one suspension already this year, an academic issue that kept him out of spring practice. But cold-cocking an opposing player, taking a swipe at a teammate and attempting to head into the stands after opposing fans is another animal entirely: Blount will certainly be suspended for the foreseeable future, if not the rest of his senior season, and could plausibly be hit with assault charges if Boise State or local authorities were feeling especially vindictive about it. At any rate, his very promising future at the next level is — to use a technical, “insider” term — kaput.

Either way, methinks Blount will be off the team today and facing charges. 

Sportsmanship FAIL, dude.