Pyrite Gal Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 In general, I would say NO, Butler does not owe anybody an explanation over the low blow he delivered in a game to a fellow player. He sinned, he was punished (unfortunately the ref did not see it so he was not tossed from the game as he should have been, but UVA stepped up to the plate and suspended him for not representing the school in a sportsmanlike manner) and unless some other officiial sanction is merited by the NCAA it strikes me as the end of the story as far as any explanation from Butler. (Though if he does something unsportmanslike again I think this would be a second transgression and should be dealt with more harshly than a first offense by this individual). However, though I think Butler owes the sports work little, I actually think it would be good business for the Bills to pro-actively say something about Butler's hit which was clearly caught on video by the camera and has been reposted in a couple of TSW threads. The Bills braintrust set the standard for how their customers should view this team by repeatedly saying they would be picking only high character guys. Make whatever excuses you want for Butler's act, but I do not think anyone is saying that tackle of an opponent at his knees after the play was done was a high-character move. Though Butler was punished for this act with a suspension and given our forgining society and afterall this is only a game (a fact which Butler seemed to have forgot for a moment) it strikes me he should be forgiven and do not let this happen again. However, it was the Bills themselves that set the standard for high character. Given that they chose a player who may well be a good player for us but he clearly performed a low character action, I think the Bills should provide the fanbase with some explanation of their thinking. They can easily ignore this if they want and will not come back to bite them unless there is some second potential act on Butler's part. Hpwever, it strikes me as both the right thing to do (given they set the standard as part of a presentation to their customers) and actually the smart thing to do for business purposes to say something about this. My guess is that if the Bills say they were aware of this, considered this, and talked to this fine young man (using Butler-speak) and felt assured ths was a one time incident inspired by the heat of a football game which they believe will never happen again, I think they get ahead of any potential stories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 No. they made the pick, let's hope he can play. Or maybe use him as a goon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
udonkey Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 No. I don't give a sh-- what he's done in the past, as long as he can protect our QB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 are you talking about the team that has employed leonard smith and conrad dobler? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Have you ever heard the phrase, "time is money?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beerme1 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 They never saw the tape. Therefore nothing to defend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Can we find some way to get him on skates against toronto next season? I think he'd work much better against marcy tucker than peters would. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NDBills Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 If you watch the play Butler got whacked in the junk and the clip was retaliation. Was it still out of line? Yes, but you have to protect your manhood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckincincy Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 (edited) In general, I would say NO, Butler does not owe anybody an explanation over the low blow he delivered in a game to a fellow player. He sinned, he was punished. 681610[/snapback] Yes, end of story. Forgive and forget, I say. Do it again though, different story. EDIT: My "Yes" above means he got his whacks, so the issue is over. Edited May 3, 2006 by stuckincincy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheMadCap Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 No. It was an isolated incident. He was punished appropriately. End of story... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K-gunner Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 No. It was an isolated incident. He was punished appropriately. End of story... 681691[/snapback] Agreed...it's not like he had a history of incidents like that one.The Bill's could use a bit of nasty on the OL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBillsBacker Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Butler doesn't owe anyone anything. He has already been punished for that incident, and has explained it in the media many times. This is a good article for those questioning Butler's character because of one mistake he made.... http://www.roanoke.com/sports/mcfarling/wb/wb/xp-35952 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lv-Bills Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 In general, I would say NO, Butler does not owe anybody an explanation over the low blow he delivered in a game to a fellow player. He sinned, he was punished (unfortunately the ref did not see it so he was not tossed from the game as he should have been, but UVA stepped up to the plate and suspended him for not representing the school in a sportsmanlike manner) and unless some other officiial sanction is merited by the NCAA it strikes me as the end of the story as far as any explanation from Butler. (Though if he does something unsportmanslike again I think this would be a second transgression and should be dealt with more harshly than a first offense by this individual). However, though I think Butler owes the sports work little, I actually think it would be good business for the Bills to pro-actively say something about Butler's hit which was clearly caught on video by the camera and has been reposted in a couple of TSW threads. The Bills braintrust set the standard for how their customers should view this team by repeatedly saying they would be picking only high character guys. Make whatever excuses you want for Butler's act, but I do not think anyone is saying that tackle of an opponent at his knees after the play was done was a high-character move. Though Butler was punished for this act with a suspension and given our forgining society and afterall this is only a game (a fact which Butler seemed to have forgot for a moment) it strikes me he should be forgiven and do not let this happen again. However, it was the Bills themselves that set the standard for high character. Given that they chose a player who may well be a good player for us but he clearly performed a low character action, I think the Bills should provide the fanbase with some explanation of their thinking. They can easily ignore this if they want and will not come back to bite them unless there is some second potential act on Butler's part. Hpwever, it strikes me as both the right thing to do (given they set the standard as part of a presentation to their customers) and actually the smart thing to do for business purposes to say something about this. My guess is that if the Bills say they were aware of this, considered this, and talked to this fine young man (using Butler-speak) and felt assured ths was a one time incident inspired by the heat of a football game which they believe will never happen again, I think they get ahead of any potential stories. 681610[/snapback] Why would anyone owe anyone an explanation? This thing was beat to death in Virginia as Tech fans went round and round with Virginia fans on talk radio. Butler was scrutinized by everyone and was punished by UVA. Before the incident, Butler was about as model of a student that there was. He was a great kid, never got in trouble, and I believe was a great student if I remember correctly. Butler was the team spokesman at many charity events as well as community service. When he was suspended, he admitted he did it out of frustration, apologized to the player he cut, and said he embarassed himself. Butler admitted he made a mistake. He also was locked in a heated battle all day with the kid he chopped. It was a retaliation in which he was the one caught. He was embarassed, everyone has moved on, and really, it should be no concern of anyone. It was taken care of already. If he does something like it again, then maybe you look back. Anyone else who plans to exploit the situation is reaching and is just looking to stir the pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJ1 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Ok, that was a bad play. But if they can channel that meanness into knocking the snot out the opposing DE I'm all for cheap shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamrock Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Ok, that was a bad play. But if they can channel that meanness into knocking the snot out the opposing DE I'm all for cheap shots. 681796[/snapback] Hell yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tcali Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 are you talking about the team that has employed leonard smith and conrad dobler? 681621[/snapback] L O L!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I swear it took me 5 minutes to figuere out that this was not a thread about hockey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 who gives a !@#$? He made a mistake. You dont know the circumstance. Great pick in the 5th round! I am glad to have a tough, hard nosed, no sh-- lineman on this team for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted May 3, 2006 Share Posted May 3, 2006 I swear it took me 5 minutes to figuere out that this was not a thread about hockey. 681879[/snapback] You know the subject line said "Bills" right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrite Gal Posted May 3, 2006 Author Share Posted May 3, 2006 Butler doesn't owe anyone anything. He has already been punished for that incident, and has explained it in the media many times. This is a good article for those questioning Butler's character because of one mistake he made.... http://www.roanoke.com/sports/mcfarling/wb/wb/xp-35952 681774[/snapback] Thanks for the great link to a good summary of Butler's like prior to and just after the "incident." As I said in my original post. I think the case is closed for Butler the UVA player and he simply owes noexplanation. However, I think what the Bills "owe" or at the very least should want to make a proactive case and tell their customers is thaat when they announced that an empasis for this team is to draft high character guys that there are testimonials to Butler like the ones in this link that show it was a episodic error that he has been punished for and he owes no other explanation unless another episode occurs. If the Bills are not pro-active in getting out the word like the ones in your link, then those who know anything about Butler will simply remember the cheap shot. I hope the Bills are lining up the press hit whe camp starts that does a full jpb of introducing Butler as a Bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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