This is Civil War week.
I should be analyzing whether Oregon can slow down Derek Anderson or if Oregon State can contain Oregon’s balanced offensive attack.
Instead, a horrible incident Friday night in Corvallis has me steaming.
In case you haven’t heard, Oregon State football player Joseph Rudulph was arrested for punching National Guard Staff
Sgt. Gabriel Sapp, on leave from Iraq, in the face because Sapp, who is white,
is married to a black woman, according
to police.
Authorities said Sapp and his wife were dancing when a group of black men, later identified as Oregon State players, approached and started making comments about his interracial relationship. The
altercation later resulted in Rudulph punching Sapp and knocking him unconscious.
I know this is the sports section and we are supposed to be talking about the Civil War, but these actions are despicable.
What point are you getting across assaulting somebody?
What matter is it to someone if they are married to a person of a different race? It is none of their business.
In a world where we are trying to bridge the gap of racism, this is a step back.
I have another serious issue with this: It takes a disturbed and despicable human being to assault someone who is putting their life on the line every day in a land that is unstable and dangerous.
Maybe this fires me up so much because I too am a soldier. I have spent most of
the past six years of my life in the Army, both on active duty and in the National Guard. I know the work, dedication and sacrifice it takes to be a soldier and what it means to have free time at home with loved ones.
Rudulph didn’t think.
Yes, he is young, but he doesn’t realize there will be severe consequences to
his actions.
I applaud Mike Riley for suspending Rudulph. (The other players were suspended, but Oregon State didn’t specify why they were suspended.) If he is found guilty of a crime connected with racial implications, he should be kicked off the team immediately.
There is no room for that anywhere.
If the tables were turned and it was a white male assaulting a black male because his wife was white, there would be no hesitation to kick him off the team, as their shouldn’t be.
Rudulph should face the same penalty.
If charged with a racially motivated assault he could face up to five years in prison. I say, “Good.”
But another question does have to be asked: Why and how did Rudulph get in this establishment anyway?
The incident took place at the Headline Café, where alcohol is served. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission regulations state that anyone entering the establishment after 9 p.m. must be older than 21. When someone does enter the Headline Café after 9 p.m. they are given a wristband to show they are of age.
According to the police, when they found Rudulph at his home he still had the wristband from the Headline Café on.
How is this guy, along with the other members that were with him and not charged, getting into the Headline Café without being of age?
This now makes the Headline Café somewhat responsible for the attack because if there were minors drinking alcohol (Rudulph was charged with being a minor in possession of alcohol), they either
didn’t check their identification or the players had fake IDs.
Or one has to wonder, do they receive special treatment and are they allowed into places because of their status as athletes?
The following weeks will reveal what really happened, but one thing is for sure: It has put a damper on the Civil War for me.
This week is supposed to
be about figuring out who has the advantage and what team will earn a bowl invitation by beating its
bitter rival. It’s not about ungrateful athletes punching out service
men on leave from war because of racial issues.

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