Lamar Thomas: Scapegoat In Miami / FIU Brawl

Look up the word ‘scapegoat’ in the dictionary today and you’ll see a picture of Lamar Thomas. Comcast Sports canned Thomas like tuna Monday morning in light of comments made during the Miami/FIU brawl on Saturday at the Orange Bowl.

Thomas is said to have ‘endorsed’ the fight while commentating from the booth.

Had I only seen then ESPN footage and not watched the game live on PPV, I might’ve felt differently than I do today. For real time action for how the fight went down, check out the video on YouTube. It’s blatantly obvious that Thomas’ comments were given after the fight was being broken up and players were ushered back to their respective sidelines.

There are going to be conflicting opinions on Thomas’ statements made during the game. I agree it was irresponsible and biased, which ultimately cost him his job. Still, I don’t feel he was endorsing the actual brawl itself. He reverted back to his attitude as a player and the kid in him still wanted to get down there and mix it up – just like every player on the field did in the heat of battle.

The problem is that when you’re paid to commentate, you lose the right to pop off at the mouth and make those types of remarks. Sit in the stands if you’re going to have that type of reaction.

A subdued Michael Irvin was interviewed today during pregame for Monday Night Football. Irvin expressed disappointment about the incident, lambasted head coach Larry Coker and went on to state that although LT is his boy, Thomas deserved to be fired for acting that way in the booth.

Take Irvin’s politically correct reaction, combine it with Thomas’ rant and you’ll find something closer to the truth regarding how most Miami fans and former players feel.

I received a good amount of positive and negative feedback today regarding my “Random Thoughts on Miami/FIU” article yesterday. There is no real gray area on this subject. You’re on one side of the fence or the other.

I had one reader go as far as to compare the brawl to the war in Iraq and chastised both teams for not being as strong or disciplined as our United States Military. As if college football players have had the same training to endure combat and handle themselves in a real heat of battle.

Still, college football fans abroad are processing this event in their own unique ways and it’s no mystery that the true bias comes from the anti-Miami contingent.

If you hate the Canes, you’re not letting anyone off the hook for this one. No punishment is good enough. Members of the national media have called for Coker’s head, the fifteen suspensions to become expulsions and for Miami to forfeit the rest of the 2006 football season.

Give it a rest. Miami and the ACC handed down suspensions today. Twelve kids will miss one game and another is suspended indefinitely. A zero tolerance policy has been put into effect and anything happening from here on out falls squarely on the coaching staff’s shoulders.

What more does anyone really want? Outside of a few roughnecks who took things too far (on both teams), the rest of this was nothing more than a pushing and shoving match which lasted no longer than the average commercial. This fight was so short that ESPN has actually resorted to looping the clip so it appears longer. They even took Thomas’ post-brawl comments and edited them in over the fight footage, making it appear that Thomas made those statement as the fight was occurring. In reality, he said what he said after both teams headed back to the sidelines.

Much of the public outcry against Thomas is a direct result of ESPN’s hack job in the editing room. It’s pretty safe to say that 5% of the ESPN audience who’s seen their footage actually saw the game live on PPV. The other 95% didn’t see the brawl unfold and didn’t hear the comments in context.

If they had, there would be more talk about FIU instigating things throughout the evening – as shown at left. This late hit and personal foul call came after Miami safety Kenny Phillips picked off a pass in the end zone.

Start with the pregame chatter and watch right up through the early part of the third quarter. Trash talking and late hits were absorbed by the Canes as the coaching staff continued to preach that the kids keep their composure.

They did, up until that 9:00 mark in the third after going ahead, 14-0. That’s when FIU’s Marshall McDuffie threw a punch at Miami offensive lineman Cyrim Wimbs. Within seconds, FIU’s Chris Smith grabbed Miami holder Matt Pirrelli and bodyslammed him. While down, an unidentified FIU player runs in and delivers a boot to Perrelli’s helmet.

Here is your turning point. The moment FIU pushed one time too many and Miami responded.

Of the 33 players singled out for their actions Saturday night, only two have been expelled. FIU’s McDuffie and Smith – the two instigators. Neither Wimbs or Perrelli were suspended as they weren’t the aggressors. They were attacked and the moment Perrelli hit the turf, both benches cleared and :57 of mayhem ensued.

That still doesn’t excuse some of the thuggish behavior out there, but realize that we’re talking about kids from South Florida… a state which endorses the Shoot First Law, allowing residents to use deadly forced when they feel personally threatened.

We’re also dealing with 18-21 years who saw some of their own getting beaten up. The early part of this brawl show FIU players outnumbering Canes 5-to-1 in certain parts of the field. Of course the ESPN footage conveniently focuses on the mob of Canes rushing the field instead of showing the outnumbered Miami players in other parts of the field. How conveniently edited.

(Anyone who questions what good editors can do, check out this trailer of the comedy “Office Space” portrayed as a thriller – using nothing but footage from this hilarious Mike Judge classic.)

Miami breeds some tough kids. It’s a blessing and a curse. Part of the program’s toughness, its grit, its expectations and its legacy were all born out of Miami being a rough city where lessons are learned on the street as often as in the classroom. (Not that some pencilneck reporter in Bristol, CT would ever understand that.)

In the 80s, that generation channeled that energy into three National Champioships and it helped put Miami on the map.

Lest not forget it was the 1987 Miami Hurricanes who united and scrapped it out in a late season game with South Carolina. With the clock winding down, the #2 Canes and #8 Gamecocks got into a squabble, en route to a 20-16 victory. The win propelled The U into the National Championship game against #1 Oklahoma and eventually their second National Championship.

Almost twenty years later, the Canes find themselves in another skirmish. Nowhere near the top of the polls, but united late in the season as a BCS game is still within reach. We all know it’s going to take more than Coker’s leadership and the assistants’ playcalling to get these Canes through the next six regular season games. It’ll take an intangible. Something extra. This brawl was one of those ‘turning point’ moments that either make or break teams.

In a few days the ESPN crap storm will stop raining down as there will be new news to break. T.O.’s hangnail. The ghost of Cory Lidel haunting A-Rod. LeBron’s new favorite after practice snack. Something important like that.

Down in Coral Gables, these Canes will be back to business as usual. Practicing hard during the week and looking to win ballgames on Saturday. Hopefully any camaraderie which stemmed from this brawl will carry over and these kids remain united, with chips on their shoulders and that “us against the world” mentality.

Oh yeah and for all the haters who still disagree, check out my main man Omar Kelly’s blog entry today… you friggin hypocrites. Tell ’em, O.

.:Canes305:.

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