Straight up thuggery

[Not Kurt Weaver]

The person who was kicked had to have facial reconstruction surgery involving a plate and pins in his face.
The matter is now being dealt with by the Police.

The matter is now being dealt with by the court and attorneys

 

[thepercy]

What happened before is neither here nor there. Yes, it would seem that something did happen to provoke a resonce but discussion of that can be left to the courts. NOTHING warrants that sort of behaviour on a rugby pitch.


For a referee to say "Moral of story Never let your guard down." is worrying to read.

NOTHING?

What if he eye gouged him, in the previous play, ripping out his eyeball, eating it and blinding him in one eye?

What if he sexually assaulted him by sticking a finger or 2 up his rectum, or repeatedly struck him in the genitals?

What if he called him a N*****, and told him to go back to Africa, you f****** mutt?


I don't know if any of these things happened, but if they did it might somewhat warrant his actions. For me it is troublesome because it wasn't an immediate, "red mist" reaction. He just erupts into violent action from a seemingly calm situation.

 

[SimonSmith]

NOTHING?

What if he eye gouged him, in the previous play, ripping out his eyeball, eating it and blinding him in one eye?

What if he sexually assaulted him by sticking a finger or 2 up his rectum, or repeatedly struck him in the genitals?

What if he called him a N*****, and told him to go back to Africa, you f****** mutt?


I don't know if any of these things happened, but if they did it might somewhat warrant his actions. For me it is troublesome because it wasn't an immediate, "red mist" reaction. He just erupts into violent action from a seemingly calm situation.

Victim blaming much?

Occam's razor: some people are just assholes.

 

[Phil E]

NOTHING?

What if he eye gouged him, in the previous play, ripping out his eyeball, eating it and blinding him in one eye?

What if he sexually assaulted him by sticking a finger or 2 up his rectum, or repeatedly struck him in the genitals?

What if he called him a N*****, and told him to go back to Africa, you f****** mutt?


I don't know if any of these things happened, but if they did it might somewhat warrant his actions. For me it is troublesome because it wasn't an immediate, "red mist" reaction. He just erupts into violent action from a seemingly calm situation.

What if...
What if...
What if...

You cannot take the law into your own hands under any circumstances.

 

[VM75]

or maybe the N word had been used?

Or.... the C word, or F word or the A word, any other 'abuse' word for that matter - the severity of word choice is a distraction

players often exchanging 'words' of varying degrees or abuse level, yet i can't remember seeing a premeditated act of thuggery like this. Faced with such an obvious 'blindsided' assault i'd expect the player to bring a whole host of pathetic justifications to the table to try and excuse it.

There have been players in this country sent to prison for things like this, & if this player gets jail time for his assault then i doubt many would shed a tear or empathise with him one jot.

 

[Dickie E]

Now you sound like a defense attorney.

You say that like it's a bad thing

 

[Ian_Cook]

People to try to rationalise an act of pure thuggery like this, because it goes well beyond their day to day experience with people. Seeing a person simply walk up to another person and kick them in the face for no apparent reason is not something the average person sees every day, so it is natural to speculate on what this act might have been a reaction to.

However, we should keep in mind that there are some very nasty people out there who commit this sort of violence simply because they enjoy it. Unfortunately, some of them manage to find their way onto sports fields. We've all seen them and at the highest level too, and we all know who they are... they have been discussed on this board frequently.

When I first saw this video, it very much reminded me of this incident from an RL match in England a couple of years ago...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ5NlD9RsyQ

... IMO, this is an example of a player with a nasty, violent streak (he had form and had been sent off for punching on previous occasions) completely overreacting to a minor provocation. A few seconds earlier, he pushed White 6 over. A second or two later, White 6 responded by pushing him back. Most players would have left it there, but Purple 10's reaction was to deck White 6 with a punch and then king hit him in the face while he's lying half-conscious on the ground. Players like this have no place in the game and ought to be banned permanently.

 

[dave_clark]

as it was, didn't he only land a six week ban which was the most that RL could give out at the time?

edit - perhaps not...

 

[beckett50]

Some very interesting and valid points and there is NO place for this thuggery on the field of play in our beautiful game.

However, I am somewhat surprised that nobody has discussed the actions of the referee. I understand that the video doesn't make it plain that he has full vision of the event, despite facing in the direction of it (the old 'spot the ball' scenario), but with the white player on the ground in some distress and his team mates moving toward the miscreant in black he is rooted to the touchline from where he expects a line out to be thrown.

Having had some experience of US Rugby - and working with the military back in the day - I am aware that there are undercurrents that we do not experience this side of the water. But I would expect a local referee to be more aware and quicker to respond, or am I out of turn?

 

[Pegleg]

What do you think the kickee learned from this?

That there are some pillocks in this world.

 

[Dickie E]

However, we should keep in mind that there are some very nasty people out there who commit this sort of violence simply because they enjoy it.

Do you think it is nature or nurture that leads to this predisposition?

 

[Ian_Cook]

Do you think it is nature or nurture that leads to this predisposition?

Environment! You grow up around violence, it has an effect.

 

[didds]

There was an argentinian that got 99 years ban for kicking an opponent in the face just a couple of years ago.

I'm deliberately not providing a link as I am concerned that by so doing I may appear voyeuristic.

didds

 

[didds]

There was an argentinian that got 99 years ban for kicking an opponent in the face just a couple of years ago.

I'm deliberately not providing a link as I am concerned that by so doing I may appear voyeuristic.

didds

PS Ive just realised that could be interpreted as suggesting ian posting his link was voyeuristic! It wasn't intended that way at all! ('ll get me coat)

 

[Dickie E]

I'm deliberately not providing a link as I am concerned that by so doing I may appear voyeuristic.

didds

and by not posting you may appear as overly censorial. There are no winners.

 

[Ian_Cook]

PS Ive just realised that could be interpreted as suggesting ian posting his link was voyeuristic! It wasn't intended that way at all! ('ll get me coat)

Share it around I say...as Michael Jones once said when asked about how he reconciled his Christian faith with the fact that he tackled opponents very hard...

"The know the Bible teaches us that it is better to give than to receive"

 

[SimonSmith]

However, I am somewhat surprised that nobody has discussed the actions of the referee. I understand that the video doesn't make it plain that he has full vision of the event, despite facing in the direction of it (the old 'spot the ball' scenario), but with the white player on the ground in some distress and his team mates moving toward the miscreant in black he is rooted to the touchline from where he expects a line out to be thrown.

Having had some experience of US Rugby - and working with the military back in the day - I am aware that there are undercurrents that we do not experience this side of the water. But I would expect a local referee to be more aware and quicker to respond, or am I out of turn?

Bless your heart.
Go the USA Referee Facebook page. That should help you calibrate.

 

[DocY]

he is rooted to the touchline from where he expects a line out to be thrown.

Thinking "WTF did I just see?!" perhaps?

TBH I don't know how I'd have reacted if I'd seen something like that in my last game, but standing dumbstruck for a few seconds is one possibility.

FWIW I think NKW has the right of it in abandoning the game.

 

[Not Kurt Weaver]

That there are some pillocks in this world.

And some "pillocks" play rugby, and one should watch out for these "pillocks", maybe expect these "pillocks", and keep up one's guard.

Hence, never let your guard down.

 

[ChrisR]

Yes! Whatever you do don't tie your shoe laces anywhere near any of the 29 others on the pitch coz they could be a "pillock". Or perhaps they just voted for The Donald and even "packing heat"! And keep your eye on that dude with the whistle coz he might just jab you in the eye with it.

Personally, I haven't locked my front door for 30+ years and I even lived next to Mexicans! Today I couldn't find the keys even if I wanted to.

The pay back? I don't live in fear.