In a reaction to the maelstrom of national media attention currently surrounding the Virginia football program, Cavalier left tackle Brad Butler has been suspended for the upcoming game against Florida State. Virginia Athletics Director Craig Littlepage released a statement Monday announcing the one-game suspension for the 6-foot-8, 296-pound starter.
Butler, a senior who has started 31 straight games for the Cavaliers, was involved in a third-quarter scuffle with Boston College defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka during last Saturday's game. After a play appeared to be over, Butler placed a hard cut-block into the side of Kiwanuka's injured leg. The shot on the ACC preseason Player of the Year enraged BC players, coaches and fans alike, sparking the Eagles to 21 second-half points in a 28-17 victory.
"I've never been one to play outside of the rules," Butler said in his prepared statement. "I was not trying to hurt Mathias Kiwanuka. I was engaged in blocking him, because he is the type of player who makes plays all over the field. I regret this event occurred and have put the incident behind me."
While it is unclear whether or not the whistle had been blown, the play had clearly passed Butler by when he delivered the shot to Kiwanuka's legs. Butler was not penalized for the hit -- it occurred out of sight of the referees, who had congregated on the sidelines in pursuit of the football.
ABC broadcaster Brent Musburger, who was covering the game live in Chestnut Hill, called for Butler to be benched after viewing the replay several times on the air. By that evening, nearly every media outlet in the country had put in its two cents as well.
ESPN commentator Mark May recommended that Butler be suspended for the remainder of the season. SI.com labeled his chop-block the "Dirtiest Play in Football History." Everywhere you turned, Butler was being vilified in the press as a dirty player.
But cut-blocking, in its purest form, is as much a part of the game of football as the forward pass. On both sides of the ball, attempting to take a player off his feet by attacking below the knees is a tactic no football player can condemn off-handedly.
"There's nothing wrong with what Brad did -- he was playing the game, and he was playing hard," Virginia center Jordy Lipsey said. "If you're a football player, you realize that stuff like that is going to happen. It's the game of football -- you hit each other. Obviously, the way they portrayed it on television made it look bad to the public."
A cut-block, also known as a chop-block, is often the last line of defense a smaller or less talented player can resort to. In order to fulfill a blocking assignment, it's perfectly legal to cut an opponent's legs out from under him.
"The big issue with running plays are offside linemen cut-blocks," head coach Al Groh said. "Cut-blocks, if done within the context of the move, are legal."
When done from behind, a cut-block becomes a clip.
"The guy has to be able to see you," right tackle Eddie Pinigis said. "That's the way we're taught to cut-block here."
Butler's suspension did not come because he went low on Kiwanuka when the BC defensive end wasn't looking -- it came because it appeared that he did it long after the play had been blown dead.
That is when a cut-block, legal by definition, ceases to be a part of the game.
"I think if they didn't call anything on the field, then that's the way it should be," Lipsey said.
Unfortunately, if a tree falls in the woods and the referees doesn't see it, it sure makes a sound when instant replay is involved.
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