Closing the chapter on this Steve Zakuani, Brian Mullan ugliness
by Steve Davis on Apr 29, 2011 3:12 PM EDT
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I wrote a piece for SI.com on the Brian Mullan suspension. It's posted here, complete with opinions from players and coaches, thoughts that can hopefully wrap some context and perspective around the whole unpleasant matter.
My personal thoughts:
Was the 10-game suspension harsh? Yes. I was frankly a little surprised to see a length of suspension that topped Ricardo Clark’s nine-game ban back in 2007. (He was suspended and fined 10 large for brutally kicking a player who was on the ground. Although, in fairness, there have been dozens and dozens of players who have wanted to kick Carlos Ruiz in the chest … but I suppose that’s beside the point.)
So, was it too harsh? Not necessarily.
It’s never great to be "the example," and that’s what Mullan just became. MLS commissioner Don Garber needed to show everyone that he was serious about the course correction Major League Soccer definitely needed. He needed to get everyone’s attention. Today, I think he’s got it.
As I said in the SI.com piece, if there was any good to come from the matter, it is this: the lengthy suspension is a moment of truth for the league and a flashpoint for a discussion that needed to happen. You know the old bromide about MLS being "a physical league." Perhaps we had to have a moment like this to start moving things in a better direction.
The Rapids report that Mullan is seriously struggling with all this. And I’m sure he is. But I just can’t feel too badly for him. We are all accountable for our actions. Sometimes things go wrong in the world. Sometimes things spin out of control, and the consequences go beyond what we could reasonably have expected. I understand all that.
But this is an apt analogy, I believe:
Let’s say you’re a reckless driver. (None of us believe we are, but somebody out there is a freakin’ wreck waiting to happen, so … ) Maybe you’ve gotten a few speeding tickets. Maybe you weave in and out of traffic a little. Maybe you are prone to riding somebody’s ass – maybe all while talking on the damn phone.
Maybe you’ve done this 100 times in the past year alone. That’s just the way you roll.
Well, OK. But on the 101st time, if you kill someone, then you have to pay the price.
This actually happened to someone I knew. And while I did everything I could to help a family that was literally torn apart by lawsuits, a DA who came very close to indicting, medical bills and general family stress that led to divorce, I could never quite separate myself from this thought: that woman was one of these cavalier, wreckless, needlessly hurried drivers who always had the potential of doing great harm.
Everyone involved paid a high price. Then again, someone died in this accident. Others were badly hurt. So, there was a costly price on it all.
Mullan? As I said before, he’s not a vicious person. But he certainly played angry at times. He was always wound up. I so wish someone could have gotten to him and told him to tone his act down just a little.
He didn’t. So here we are.
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I have no sympathy for Mullan.
Bottom line, he’ll still be playing when Zak is still in a cast. Hard to say its harsh when you look at it in those terms.
He'll come come back from the suspension and still feel the guilt
The guilt will make him less aggressive and cause him to hesitate before each tackle. There may be a argument that when he does come back, this will cause him to be less effective and never be the same player again.
And Zak may end up like Kyle Martino
and ‘never’ come back.
by Shawn Gillogly on Apr 29, 2011 9:42 PM EDT up reply actions
It wasn't just the tackle
it was the obvious intent. He felt like he had just been fouled with no call, he got up, yelled at the ref, then took off like a bat out of hell. He went in fierce and with what looked like obvious intent to hit Zakuani hard. Maybe he’s shook up because he realized how out of control he was. Either way this is exactly the kind of play that needs a stiff punishment. It’s bush league and needs to get out of this league.
Your First Ever Pinstripe Bowl Champions- The Syracuse Orange
by bigbluethruandthru on May 2, 2011 10:12 PM EDT reply actions
I agree.
Add to that he did himself absolutely no favors post match when he said he was sorry he hurt Zakuani, “But that it was a tackle I’ve made a thousand times before, and I’d do it again.” He showed no regard for the game, and minimal respect for the player he’d hurt.
by Shawn Gillogly on May 2, 2011 10:34 PM EDT up reply actions
