Whether Crowder deserves to be punished is irrelevant. I think there was some contention to the fact that yelling in the presence of an officer without any physical altercation was worthy of a game suspension. Simply having a one-game suspension is an implicit agreement by Zook, Foley and the University of Florida that “whatever action” was worthy of a just suspension. End of story.

In the interest of justice and impartially, the sentence is carried out at the next available opportunity and it is served until all punishment has been faithfully executed. This serves our notion of fairness; it suggests, in part, that justice is blind and circumstances do not have greater advantage than justice in and of itself. If a player is ejected from a game, the NCAA requires that he sits out one-half of the next game regardless of what that game is or when it is played.

There can be no question that the Crowder suspension was moved in order to give the defense an opportunity to play as a unit before the Tennessee game. There is no other logic or conclusion that one can reach. It certainly does not rest on any opinions Zook has against certain patsies we play at the beginning of the year. I doubt that Crowder is scared to play MTSU.

So to move the suspension in a partial or political manner, in this case, to give the team an overall advantage, transforms it into something that is inherently unjust. It is unjust for the same reasons people complain about FSU or Miami, who have also demonstrated a selective method in distributing justice to its players.

If Johnny Nobody, the team’s 3rd string fullback was due for a one-game suspension, do you think Zook would apply the same logic that he is with Crowder? I am willing to bet that there will be some other suspensions coming down either due to academics or other team rules violations. I bet you they serve them all this week. There is no “MTSU rule” And this, ironically, spills off the tongue like “International rules” does. ala FSU.

The punishment is an empty gesture. It was enforced to achieve the least amount of harm as to benefit not only the team’s chances of wining against Tennessee, but also a player’s ability to slide as long as he is a star player. This sets a precedent. Maybe not a huge one, but it does send a message that your position on a team and its importance AFFECTS how you are punished. We are now operating under a sliding scale, whether you chose to see it or not.