Brandon Spikes eye-gouging video

Does noted humanitarian Tim Tebow know this is going on? During Saturday's victory over Georgia, Florida linebacket Brandon Spikes was caught by TV cameras eye-gouging an opponent.

You have the No. 1 team in the country and you feel the need to try to blind your opponent? Really classy.

Is it too late to hope for an Iowa-Alabama BCS title game?

-- Houston Mitchell

Comments

[Sharon]

This is HORRIBLE! What a dirty act caught on video. Is this the kind of players Florida recruits? I am not a fan of either team but this is clearly unacceptable and must be addressed. This players eyesight could have been damaged for LIFE. Brandon Spikes clearly is positioning himself on top of the ball carrier and poking his hand and fingers INSIDE the facemask. Yes indeed.. I hope Alabama beats the heck out of this low class team. Tim Tebow should say a prayer for his team mate and teach him some sportsmanship while he's at it.

[sjerald51]

If Spikes did in fact gouge the eyes of the UGA RB Ealey, why didn’t Ealey come out of the pile raising pure hell?

Also, in his post game interview, Ealey said he and Spikes had words throughout the game but NO MENTION WHATSOEVER OF ANY EYE GOUGING.

Where is the complaint from the victim himself?

Looking closer at the video, Spikes fingers appear to be higher than Ealey’s eyes like Spikes is trying to rip off his helmet which would make more sense because Spikes had his helmet ripped off once and knocked off on another play.

Bottom Line….if Spikes was gouging his eyes, Ealey would have made a scene right there and then.

[Choco]

This was likely in response to Georgia players headhunting Tebow because of his concussion and poking TEbow in the eye as well.. and the celebrating.. and the black jersey nonsense..

[Danny]

What does Tebow have to do with this play? Tim Tebow is on OFFENSE, not DEFENSE, so he is on the sidelines.

Secondly, the video is in slow motion, so its tough to tell whether it was done on purpose. I'm not convinced.

Look, I think Florida football is a shady institution, one fraught with corner cutting, "wink and nudge" deals typical of the "win at all costs" mentality of the SEC. I just don't think this one is was done on purpose.

[Rich]

Low class? Urban Meyer runs a tight program, and has disciplined his players for transgressions both on an off the field. When Meyer finds out, Spikes will be dealt with. The fact of the matter is that it's football, and stuff like that always goes on in a pile, you just don't see it. Anyway, I would like to know what team SHARON cheers for? Is it USC? If so, do you also criticize the head-hunting actions of Taylor Mays? People in LA make me laugh.

[joe]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/players/01/25/pile0131/

It's football. That is what goes on during plays and in piles. It's part of the game, move on with your life.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2005/players/01/25/pile0131/

[John]

sjerald51 you are an idiot! ripping his helmet off? do you even see him try to pull his helmet at all? Washaun Ealey is not a thug like Brandon Spikes and took it like a man and didn't get cheap. Yes they were jawing all game but in this case Ealey (a freshman) handled the situation better than Spikes (a senior). I'm not saying that Ealey won the battle because Spikes did have over 10 tackles that game but Ealey did say he is what i'm bringing to the table and did not resolve to a cheap shot or class-less move at all. The Univeristy of Florida players are all put on a pedestal because of the success of the program and are seen to never do anythin wrong because of the type of person Tim Tebow is. It's good to see that the nation now knows that Florida is not as heavenly as everyone thinks.

[AuzzieB53]

That sjerald51 guy is an absolute idiot. I am not a fan from either team and could care less about the SEC but to sit there and try to claim that he wasn't trying to gouge his eyes means that someone must have gouged your eyes out a long time ago. Are you insane. If he was trying to rip off his helmet I'm pretty sure he wouldn't be reaching inside of his facemask and repeatedly be moving his forward to push it in deeper. Who knows why the guy didn't make a big deal about it, probably because he COULDN'T SEE WHO WAS TRYING TO POKE HIS EYES OUT.

[Kenneth Schindler Jr.]

Im not going to stop till something is done about this, I have already sent letters to every NCAA output that I can find.
Brandon Spikes should be done for his remainder in the NCAA.
Sick, sick low life, had to do that even after the gators already won the game!

[No Dog]

I've got no dog in this fight either and it looked to me like a cheap shot, which I'm sure was retaliation for other perceived cheap shots from bulldog players. I do recall seeing Spikes, in the first half, shaking his head like he had fire ant in his hair and heading for the sideline without taking time to go back to retrieve his helmet that was ripped off. I also recall seeing Tebow getting eyewash on the sideline after being at the bottom of a pile. When I go back and look closely at the video, Spikes does pull up on Ealey’s helmet. In fact, you can see Ealey put his hand on top of his helmet to secure it in place. Call sjerald51 what you want, but I think he has a point.

[CM]

Meyer runs a tight ship eh rich? 24 arrests under his tenure... ya, not so much.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/2009-06-14/sports/florida_1_uf-johnson-gainesville

[gerrrg]

That's got to be worse than Blount's sucker punch to the lower jaw.

[Josh]

I live here in Florida, not a huge fan of the Gators, but never the less these types of actions are rediculous. The I dont care if it was a close game a blow out or what things like this need to have a larger penalty than a 1st half suspension in a meaningless game against Vanderbilt... Im sure because it is "Florida" that nothing to dramatic will be done by SEC or NCAA but all this does is ruin the game of football ..POINT BLANK.

[peter]

looks like spikes needs to spend more time with tim tebow. 5 min should do.

[Reggie]

This happens all the time, football is a nasty game, especially in rivalries. Spikes is nice though, he was probably just trying to wipe the other player's eyes for him, so courteous! If anything, he was just trying to irritate the other player and take his focus from the game- no one takes eyeballs out anymore, not even on Halloween. There is a huge difference between eye rub, eye poke, and eye GOUGE.

[Joe B.]

I do have a dog in this fight as a UGA Alum. #1 seriously? Ripping the helmet off? Not sold it was a cheap shot? He was gouging the eyes for sure. #2 as far as a retaliation, Spikes helmet was ripped off in the 1st quarter because on a play blown dead because of a false start he came and hit Ealey trying to rekindle the hit last year he had on Moreno. #3 Tebow is a class act, Spikes is a thug. Period #4 Ealey probably did not make a scene or react because UGA had already had 3 unsportsmanlike conduct penalties for retaliating to Florida's (mostly Spikes) antics.

[Gary]

Nobody with any familiarity with the game is surprised by this...this (and worse) happens in every pile. It's inexcusable, but it's only egregious because it's on video

[mark widerberg]

sjerald51

Washun Ealey did come out of the pile raising hell and pushed Spikes who just gouged his eye the officials gave Washun a 15 yard personal foul for being upset. The SEC Commissioner has threaten coaches and players any complaining after a game the coach and player will be suspended and fined thats why nothing is being said. The Commissioner of the SEC doesn't want anything to derail Florida from having another shot at a Championship even eye gouging or injuring a player is ok but criticizing an offical will get you in trouble.

[Anonymous]

I'm 12 and what is this?

[Tophertron]

This was in response to many, many, many, cheap shots taken on Spikes and Tebow the whole game, Georgia is one of the trashiest teams in college football, they ripped Spikes helmet off, constantly hit Tebow helmet to helmet to try to aggervate his concussion, and eye gouged Spikes earlier in the game, this is just Spikes acting out on them for the way they were playing, it's just football, this happens all the time! Stop being jealous of Florida's success bc your team has been shown to be overrated yet again this year, and Iowa would be STOMPED by any team in the SEC! Real national Championship game will be the SEC championship again this year!

[Jimbo]

Spikes is a low life. A defenseless player on the ground? Come on! Whats worse is the punishment from Coach Meyer and the University President....30 minutes suspension from the Vanderbilt game.? You got to be kidding. The running back from Oregon was kicked out for the whole year for hitting a player after the game! It is obvious the Gators run a dirty program, and allow this to go on. Whats even more obvious, is the total lack of punishment. It just shows that they really didn't think this was a big deal, which in itself shows the true values of the program. This certainly tarnishes their program, and will probably hurt their recruiting efforts. Who wants to represent a dirty program like that?

[Drew]

You're all morons if you think gouging somebodys eye out is justification for his helmet getting ripped off. Why don't you take a closer look at the game...Spikes only wears one of his chin straps buckled and that's why his helmet kept coming off. And the suspension is a laughable. Half a game? I seem to remember Albert Haynesworth stomping on a players head and getting a five game suspension in the NFL. And for those proponets of eye gouging because "it happens all the time in the pile", that's the argument of a first class dirtbag and doesn't make it right. So lets say I go around stealing clothes from department stores and nobody sees it and lots of other people do it too, that makes it right? Probably in the eyes of the dirtbags wearing their five finger discount jean shorts.

[Whine and Cheese?]

Hmm, is this all it takes for the jealous jellies to crawl from under the woodwork? Although not a Gator fan, obviusly the whiny bunch in this thread is not looking at the earlier events in the game from both teams. This is part of the game, if offended just flip the channel to golf.

[Antonio]

NOOO he wasnt mad because i guess maybe his eyes hurt

[Kenneth]

No matter what he did. He has earned his spot among the best of the best at his position. Brandon Spikes will always remain a BEAST!