Blount Learned His Lesson -- And That's What College Is All About

In the immediate wake of that ugly scene that ended the kickoff of this college football season in Boise, Idaho, Oregon running back LeGarrette Blount somehow regained his wits and apologized profusely for having punched out Boise State defensive end Byron Hout -- and having to be restrained by authorities -- after Hout taunted him.

Within a day or two, Blount and his coach, Chip Kelly, called Hout and Boise State coach Chris Petersen to apologize again.

And the other day Blount wrote a letter of apology to all concerned that was published in a newspaper and spread all over the Web.

Oregon was due applause for the swiftness, if not the harshness, of the penalty it pinned on Blount for his regrettable reaction to Hout. It suspended him for the rest of this season, his senior year. It did so despite him being the Ducks' best running back, if not best offensive player. It did so even though such an action would probably derail the team's effort to get back in the national title hunt. That's what college athletics is all about, right?

Oregon is due even more applause Friday for saying that it would rescind the season-long suspension, pending Pac-10 allowance, if Blount continued to meet the demands it placed on him to show repentance and redeem his reputation. Because at the end of the day, that's really what athletics in an educational environment should be all about: learning.

"It's not a football decision, it's a human being decision; it's about that individual," The Associated Press quoted Kelly on Friday. "And he's got a lot of things he's got to do."

Blount was wrong, as he said quickly and with contrition, and he is demonstrating that he is learning to be better -- not only in the future, but right now.

We don't yet know if the same observation can be made of the young man from Boise State who pulled Blount's trigger. Boise State athletics spokesman Max Corbet told me Friday night that Hout hasn't issued any public admission of guilt or sorrow for his igniting the scrap. Corbet said Hout did entertain Blount when Blount phoned and said the characterization of Hout as telling Blount he felt badly for the incident is true as best he knows. I wish we could all hear that in a public forum like Blount manned up for rather than a private forum that only gets relayed through hearsay.

But this chapter of this story isn't about Hout; it is about Blount. Boise State coach Petersen said the entire affair would be a teaching event for his player but it is Blount who looks to be learning from it. He is deserving of a chance to play again.

Playing school football is a privilege for those with the talent and the demeanor. There have been too many times when talent has been allowed to override demeanor and Oregon must be careful not to allow that to happen.

Nebraska's last famed coach, Tom Osborne, failed at that with a talented running back named Lawrence Phillips in the '90s. He let Phillips play after he was arrested for assaulting his then-girlfriend. In my book, Phillips shouldn't have played again at least until his case was adjudicated. He was a college student and not a pro. There was a lesson to be learned and he never got it. He was in trouble constantly after that incident. It derailed what looked to be a promising pro career and Phillips is now serving time in prison for assault on yet another one-time girlfriend, among other charges.

Blount isn't Phillips, save being a young black man from the South gifted at carrying a football. He wasn't arrested or convicted. He threw a punch in anger at another football player who baited him. That's not criminal unless or until Hout goes to the authorities and there is no indication that will happen. Hout was dazed and embarrassed. He didn't suffer a busted jaw like Raiders defensive assistant Randy Hanson, who has told police he suffered his from a punch by Raiders head coach Tom Cable.

Blount reached out to Kermit Washington, the accidental assault and batterer of Rudy Tomjanovich in the NBA's most famous and tragic punch. Washington has been wrongly defined by his one action, devastating though it was, and shared with Blount ways for Blount not to be defined by his emotional response.

"This is what I said to him: 'Don't make any excuses because nobody wants to hear that," Washington told Dave Zirin of EdgeofSports.com. "You do need to be public with your regrets. Write an open letter to the University. Write a letter to the Oregonian. And just say you're sorry. Say publicly the truth: that you embarrassed your school, your coach, and your team. People respect honestly, courage, and truthfulness.

"Even those who think the worst about you and will always think you're a thug. They might not like you but they respect those traits. It's very important that you write the letter in your own words. No PR people. And remember: no excuses."

Blount's coach Kelly also heard from Miami coach Randy Shannon who was involved in a Hurricanes scuffle or two during his playing days.

Oregon never kicked Blount off the team. It never took away his scholarship, which really would have been overly punitive. You don't lure a kid across the country from Florida through Mississippi to Oregon only to discard him like a worn out tackling dummy.

Kelly told Blount that he could still practice, which must have seemed like a big waste of time for a star player who wasn't going to be able to play. But after missing a first post-punch practice, Blount rejoined his team.

Kelly said he designed a ladder of goals for Blount to climb if he expected to suit up again for the Ducks. It included academic rungs and behavior rungs and athletic rungs. Kelly said Blount autographed the agreement last week.

"The ball is in LeGarrette's court," Kelly said.

Blount seems to realize as much. He appears to be bent on becoming a poster figure for what to do after becoming a poster figure for what not to do, and I hope he succeeds.