Britt Jones
American football can be a dangerous game, with players often being injured through accidental clashes. On this occasion, though, the dangerous actions of one player were very much deliberate.
On Friday (29 September) during a game between UTEP and Louisiana Tech, a linebacker stomped on an opposing player’s head.
Brevin Randle was then ‘suspended indefinitely’ for the offense, but fans say it’s just not enough.
At the time of the incident, Randle could be seen diving into University of Texas at El Paso offensive lineman, Steven Hubbard, who was lying on the ground, before getting up and stomping on his face and head area.
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In footage from CBS Sports, you can see Hubbard squirming in pain after the blow, but it didn’t appear that anyone else caught what had happened.
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It was caught by head coach of UTEP, Dana Dimel who, according to the El Paso Times, said: “The referee, who I really admire, came over at halftime and very gentlemanly said that he missed it.”
“That’s part of the game. He (the official) was a class act, I really appreciated that.”
But the broadcaster for CBS Sports was noticeably unhappy about Randle’s conduct when the news station picked up the shot of the stomp.
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After seeing a replay, one commentator pointed to Randle stamping his foot down on Hubbard’s helmet: “A bit of a dirty play at the end of it.”
This offense led to the linebacker being suspended, as Louisiana Tech athletic director Eric Wood revealed in a statement released Saturday night.
Wood stated: “Coach [Sonny] Cumbie and I met with Brevin Randle today and informed him that he has been suspended indefinitely as a result of the incident during last night’s game versus UTEP.”
“Our University, athletic department, and football program believe in culture, class, and competitive excellence and in no way was that displayed in that moment.”
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Of course, other teams and players had their own views on what had happened, taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to express their disgust.
One commenter was Green Bay Packers running back and UTEP star Aaron Jones who wrote: “No place for this in football !!!”
Whilst the former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant commented: “Unacceptable.”
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Fans who also saw the shot were enraged, calling for a tougher punishment to be given to Randle for his violence.
One user stated under CFBTalkDaily’s video: “He didn't step on his head, he stomped on his head.”
Another simply stated that the linebacker was ‘thuggish’.
Others called for him to be ‘criminally charged’ for his actions and that he ‘belongs in jail’.
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There has been no news so far about whether further action will be taken against Randle at this time.