A Colorado star offensive and defensive player were involved in a very controversial hit during the second quarter of the Colorado vs. Colorado State game on September 16th. Travis Hunter of Colorado was the target of a pass which led to an incompletion, but as he was out of bounds, Travis Blackburn, the safety for Colorado State, hit Hunter in his mid-section drawing a foul for unsportsmanlike conduct after the late hit.1 Hunter had already dropped the pass and was out of bounds at the time of the hit. Hunter was pulled from the field and taken to the hospital at half-time.2 Hunter suffered a lacerated liver and is expected to be out for three to four weeks.3 Although the injury is not considered terribly serious and should heal on its own, the injury should have never happened as Hunter had already given himself up by being out of bounds.
There has been debate as to whether Blackburn should have been ejected because of the play, versus just drawing a flag that ended up being offset by a penalty on Colorado’s side. To receive an ejection in the NFL (National Football League), the player needs to receive a targeting penalty. The NCAA rule book states “No player shall target and make forcible contact against an opponent with the crown of their helmet. The crown of the helmet is the top segment of the helmet; namely, the circular area defined by a 6-inch radius from the apex (top) of the helmet.4 After reviewing the play, it seems as though Blackburn hit Hunter with his shoulder and not the top of his helmet, which is why no targeting penalty was called.
Due to the late and hard hit, Blackburn has been receiving death threats not only to himself, but to his family as well, which has caused the Colorado State police to get involved. Blackburn’s address as well as his mother’s address were found and posted online, as well as both of their phone numbers, which has caused the death threats to build up by multiple fans. Due to the serious nature of the threats, the police are now involved. Football can get competitive, but it has been taken to another level as players are now receiving threats based off their on-field actions. Hunter and Coach Sanders have both commented on the situation. Hunter stated that it is “football at the end of the day, stuff like that is going to happen and he did what he was supposed to do.”5 Coach Sanders stated that Blackburn should not be receiving death threats for his violent late hit on Travis Hunter. He stated you can call the hit dirty, but at the end of the day he was just playing the game of football and is still a young man trying to make it in life. Colorado State Police stated death threats can be linked to potential charges, so fans should be careful on certain comments that they make.
Leave a Reply