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EUGENE, Ore. -- Oregon has suspended running back LeGarrette Blount for the remainder of the season for punching Boise State linebacker Byron Hout after Thursday night's loss.
Blount's suspension includes any bowl games. Coach Chip Kelly said he will remain on scholarship.
Immediately following No. 16 Oregon's 19-8 loss to the No. 14 Broncos, ESPN showed Hout yelling in Blount's face and tapping him on the shoulder pad as the teams converged onto the field. As a Broncos assistant coach moved to separate Hout from Blount, the Oregon senior threw a right cross that connected with Hout's right jaw. Hout went down and popped right back up.
Blount also had to be restrained by police officers from fans heckling him on the way to the locker room afterward.
"Under no circumstance is fighting acceptable," the NCAA said in a statement Friday. "If it occurs before or during a game, the officials enforce the rules. If it occurs after a game, institutions and conferences decide how to address the situation. We trust our members to handle these situations appropriately."
The Pac-10 said in a statement that it supported Oregon's decision. University president Richard Lariviere, in a statement prior to Blount's suspension, called the player's behavior "reprehensible."
"We do not and will not tolerate the actions that were taken by our player. Oregon's loyal fans expect and deserve better," Lariviere said.
Boise State spokesman Max Corbet told The Associated Press in an e-mail Friday that coach Chris Petersen would not suspend Hout. Instead, Petersen will spend time with Hout this week to help him learn from what happened.
Boise State replayed Blount slugging Hout several times on the giant screen in the north end zone of Bronco Stadium. Amid jeers from the crowd, Blount, who was being escorted from the field by Oregon assistant coach Scott Frost, got into another confrontation with fans.
According to Blount, one fan brandished a chair at him and another punched him. Two police officers and Frost nearly carried Blount to the Boise State athletic building, where the visiting team dresses.
After the game, a contrite Blount came out of the locker room.
"I should have handled that situation a lot better than I did," he said. "I apologize. We will never have a game like this again. ... The game, as it went on, just got more frustrating and more frustrating for me in general. I shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have done anything."
Blount, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound transfer from East Mississippi CC, rushed for 1,002 yards and a school-record 17 touchdowns last season. He carried the ball eight times for minus-5 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards against Boise State.
Players from both sides, Blount included, met at midfield for a pregame handshake, the result of a sportsmanship initiative developed for this weekend's games by the American Football Coaches Association and the NCAA. Grant Teaff, the AFCA's executive director, said Friday the incident would not dampen the weekend.
"This case points out that we still need to have a commitment to sportsmanship and respect," Teaff told ESPN's Joe Schad. "It was sad as I watched [the events in Boise], but the good news is nobody joined in. That would have been a brawl back in the day. This was one player who was frustrated and infuriated and lost control."
Blount's suspension includes any bowl games. Coach Chip Kelly said he will remain on scholarship.
Immediately following No. 16 Oregon's 19-8 loss to the No. 14 Broncos, ESPN showed Hout yelling in Blount's face and tapping him on the shoulder pad as the teams converged onto the field. As a Broncos assistant coach moved to separate Hout from Blount, the Oregon senior threw a right cross that connected with Hout's right jaw. Hout went down and popped right back up.
Blount also had to be restrained by police officers from fans heckling him on the way to the locker room afterward.
"Under no circumstance is fighting acceptable," the NCAA said in a statement Friday. "If it occurs before or during a game, the officials enforce the rules. If it occurs after a game, institutions and conferences decide how to address the situation. We trust our members to handle these situations appropriately."
The Pac-10 said in a statement that it supported Oregon's decision. University president Richard Lariviere, in a statement prior to Blount's suspension, called the player's behavior "reprehensible."
"We do not and will not tolerate the actions that were taken by our player. Oregon's loyal fans expect and deserve better," Lariviere said.
Boise State spokesman Max Corbet told The Associated Press in an e-mail Friday that coach Chris Petersen would not suspend Hout. Instead, Petersen will spend time with Hout this week to help him learn from what happened.
Boise State replayed Blount slugging Hout several times on the giant screen in the north end zone of Bronco Stadium. Amid jeers from the crowd, Blount, who was being escorted from the field by Oregon assistant coach Scott Frost, got into another confrontation with fans.
According to Blount, one fan brandished a chair at him and another punched him. Two police officers and Frost nearly carried Blount to the Boise State athletic building, where the visiting team dresses.
After the game, a contrite Blount came out of the locker room.
"I should have handled that situation a lot better than I did," he said. "I apologize. We will never have a game like this again. ... The game, as it went on, just got more frustrating and more frustrating for me in general. I shouldn't have said anything. I shouldn't have done anything."
Blount, a 6-foot-2, 240-pound transfer from East Mississippi CC, rushed for 1,002 yards and a school-record 17 touchdowns last season. He carried the ball eight times for minus-5 yards and caught two passes for 13 yards against Boise State.
Players from both sides, Blount included, met at midfield for a pregame handshake, the result of a sportsmanship initiative developed for this weekend's games by the American Football Coaches Association and the NCAA. Grant Teaff, the AFCA's executive director, said Friday the incident would not dampen the weekend.
"This case points out that we still need to have a commitment to sportsmanship and respect," Teaff told ESPN's Joe Schad. "It was sad as I watched [the events in Boise], but the good news is nobody joined in. That would have been a brawl back in the day. This was one player who was frustrated and infuriated and lost control."
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