Sidelines
Many wrong in
melee at MarshallWHO is going to be the first to say that if only Marshall University had Fieldturf, that dummy who ran onto the field Tuesday night would have never gotten hurt?
It's much more forgiving and shock-absorbent when you're getting shoved to the ground by angry assistant coaches.
In case you're keeping score ... Tuesday night's incident saw Miami (Ohio) defensive coordinator Jon Wauford taken to jail in handcuffs, Marshall fan Robert Flaugher taken to the hospital with a concussion and Miami taken to the cleaners with a bitter-tasting last-second 36-34 loss.
Yes, you're correct. They're all wrong here.
In case you missed it, our old friend Ben Roethlisberger did his Ben Roethlisberger thing, forever bringing Miami back in this shootout of a football game. With his heroics, Miami took a late lead. Marshall had one last drive. It was exciting. It was tense. This was it.
If Marshall could score before the clock ran out, it would win. If Miami could stop Marshall, it would win.
Then game officials called two pass-interference penalties in the end zone on consecutive plays. One. Two.
And up in the Miami coaches' box, chairs were thrown through walls.
They were under the impression that the officials were upholding that Great American Sports Tradition known as "juice."
That is a partisan view, but even much of the national television audience -- those not wearing Marshall green, anyway -- had to regard the two calls and the timing of them as "controversial."
With just seconds left, Marshall was moved to the 1-yard line. Marshall scored the winning touchdown. Its fans stormed the field.
Up in the Miami coaches' box, at some point, a desk was smashed.
It was under these circumstances in which Mr. Wauford and Mr. Flaugher first encountered each other.
It was not a Mensa meeting. There was no splitting of atoms. It was not the Algonquin Round Table.
This was field level in the emotional meltdown in the seconds following a big game. The most intelligent thing normally said under these conditions is "Wooooooo!"
The second most intelligent thing cannot be printed in this newspaper.
In the middle of this melee, Wauford and Flaugher crossed paths. You know the rest.
Hospital.
Handcuffs.
And they're both to blame. Everybody's wrong here.
First, Flaugher, if only because his guilt is less obvious. He gets to play the victim here. Some unscrupulous pettifogger may have already pounced on this opportunity of a lifetime. Do you see a lawsuit coming?
This has "Judge Judy" written all over it.
No, I don't blame him for rushing the field. That is yet another Great American Sports Tradition. In fact, I blame him for now ruining that. You should be able to rush on the field and jump on a goal post. At the end of a great game, it's wonderful scenery.
But don't be an idiot. Flaugher's brother said that "neither he nor his brother used foul or abusive language toward Miami players or coaches," an Associated Press report said. "He was waving goodbye to Miami's players," Flaugher's brother said.
Under the circumstances, that is using foul or abusive language.
He went onto the field and taunted a team that had just lost like that. There is never any excuse for this kind of incident. But Flaugher took his chances. And this is what happened.
Wauford's guilt is more clear-cut. You just don't do that. Yes, his team got robbed, and yes, the emotion that goes into a big football game is incredible, and yes, the guy might even have asked for it.
And yes, he can go off in handcuffs.
He can be a tough guy and push a fan to the turf. He can go to jail for it.
Too often, sports figures forget which world they're living in. It's easy to do. You can scream at the officials, lose all sense of composure, freak out, push someone into the pile, take a swing at someone.
Do it after the game's over and you'll get more than a 15-yard penalty or a technical foul.
And of course Wauford didn't pick a guy who would get up and hit him back.
He was wrong here. Everybody was.
The officials blew it.
The fan blew it.
The coach blew it most of all.
Today, Wauford is suspended. And Flaugher has a headache.
And frankly, so do I.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com