January 29, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in News with 11 comments
After a dangerous bid by UCF’s Brawley Adams in their showcase game against Alabama at T-Town Throwdown, Bama’s Chris Browning spiked the disc on Adams. Browning was apologetic on Reddit, explaining that he didn’t mean to spike the disc on Adams, but just near him.
We asked in the initial post: “At unobserved tournaments, should there be consequences for this kind of behavior, like dangerous bids, spiking on opponents, and fighting?”
Readers have had a lot of reactions to that — and the incident itself. Here’s a selection of the most interesting and/or thoughtful.
Aguilar:
Unlike the vast majority of comments that I foresee coming out in response to this play, I’m going to attach my name to what I’m about to say.
Chris Browning is the type of Ultimate player we should want to have around. I have played with and against Chris and the only conclusion that I can come to is that he is the type of player I want on the field with me. Whether he’s on my sideline or the other.When he is on your team he is an encouraging and uplifting teammate that brings he best to every match. When he is on the other team, he plays fairly and with respect for those on the other team.
Is this his finest moment? Even he admits that it is not.
However, if you’re going to focus on his actions then your mind is in the wrong place. This would be like getting angry at an NFL player because he received a 15 yard personal foul for taking his helmet off on the field when the tape reveals the reason he removed his helmet was to yell at an opposing player who stomped on his crotch with cleats.
This layout is dangerous, pointless and has no place in the game. We’re playing ULTIMATE FRISBEE. If you’re willing to sacrifice someone else’s safety in order to win at ULTIMATE FRISBEE then you are the worst kind of person.
I don’t say that to indict the UCF player. I don’t know him. I haven’t played with him or against him. I don’t claim to know his intent.
This could have been a one time mistake (though he makes the same one later in the game) just as Browning’s spike is the only time I’ve seen him do anything of this nature.
We as a community should be dedicated to stopping these kinds of plays in any situation. It just isn’t worth it. It is outrageous to me that this headline is “Alabama Player Spikes Disc on UCF Defender at T-Town Throwdown” when, for all we know, a few inches to the left or right by either player could have left Browning unable to even stand up after the play. [Ed. note: we changed the headline to be more fair to what happened in the situation.]
I’m not justifying CB’s actions. They deserve to be critiqued. However, if the focus is solely on his play here, then we’re denying the actual problem.
Eylem Caner:
Spiking the disc on someone is bad, but attacking the person who does it is even worse. Spirit teaches you not to do what has been done to you, an eye for an eye is never a solution.
Just watch the Sockeye – Doublewide game from last year and see how Skip and another player from DW deals with a similar situation at the 20 minute mark.
This is a good example on how these kind of situations should be resolved, not by screaming and hitting each other. I believe both players deserves penalties for their actions.
I find it even worst that people support the guy “who is covering his teammates back.” That’s a poor excuse for good spirit, even worse than spiking the disc in the first place.
Boomer:
When I saw that last night, I thought to myself that if I were observing that game (or if it were observed at all), it would have been an ejection. From the Observer Manual:
“Intentionally striking another player with a part of the body, a disc or anything else, or any clear attempt to do so, warrants an ejection. This includes […] spiking, or attempting to spike, a disc on someone.”
If a complaint were lodged against Browning, then the Conduct Committee should use the video as part of the review of the case for sure. Going beyond, that it is probably a good idea for them to do some monitoring of game footage and respond appropriately.
this guy:
Neither the bid or the spike was bad. Shit happens in competitive sports. The situation was defused quickly, the game goes on.
Like It Is:
not a dangerous bid, big ups to the guy in white to stand up for his teammate. it’s sports, let this stuff happen: no one was hurt. if punches are thrown then that’s a different story.
Aguilar:
I think that part of what instigates Browning’s actions is that he knows that outside of what he does, there will be no justice. I think a lot of times Ultimate players go overboard with these kinds of things because they know that all they can do is call a foul and that does nothing to exact justice on the offending player or prevent further infractions. In both situations, if an observer had been on the scene and jumped in with a TMF/PMF, I doubt you would see the offensive player take the same action that he does.
I don’t say this to justify Browning’s actions in the situation. I only bring it up to lament the current state (or lack thereof) of observing in Ultimate.
And here is a selection of the responses we received on Twitter:
