Official SEC Football Thread 2009

Originally Posted by RX2010

so you're saying, if everyone does something wrong, but only a few people get caught, they really shouldn't get punished because someone else didn't??

In a sense. If he'd be punished for retaliation, then they should go back and find the original offense on tape - they have enough cameras to catch it, it just wasn't on the TV screen. Since it was apparently the same offense, that should be punished too right? But then things get complicated. If you don't punish the same earlier offense, it still supports the "OK unless caught" idea which promotes the behavior in the first place.

Originally Posted by RX2010

it may not be cheating if you don't get caught, but he was caught red-handed, and should be punished.

What it comes down to is that the refs and officials saw it, and chose to let it go. They're the ones who make the decisions. We can sit and argue about it 'til the cows come home and it won't make any difference in the world. Good thing it didn't affect the outcome of the game. The dude may have acted in an unsportsmanlike manner, but I'd bet a hefty wager this little incident won't hurt him at all when he's being drafted.