Jeez, this is a weird thread. The consensus (and it is nearly unanimous) is that Bruce deserved to get punched by someone twice his size for talking back and stepping on the T? We now officially believe that violence is the best reaction to disrespect?
...
Unless Bruce punched him first, Croom screwed up. Croom deserved to be punished. And Croom sure as heck doesn't deserve to be praised, and lifted up as a hero of the program. Punching a much smaller freshman, somebody who was decent enough to take a blue shirt, and who seemed to love UT, is not heroic.
If Croom slugged Bruce in any circumstance except in physical defense of himself or another, it's assault and he should be off the team, period. You people are insane.
Your son walks into your living room. Walks over to the corner near the TV, whips it out, and pees right there. In the corner of your living room.
Flabbergasted, you ask him what the heck he's doing. He says, 'what?' and starts to walk off. You put your hand on his shoulder to stop him, and explain in no uncertain terms that one does not pee in the corner of the living room. He looks at you with some mixture of disrespect, contempt, and mockery, and says, "I do." And then starts to walk off.
You grab him, he shrugs off your arm and walks out the door.
You can:
(1) clock the kid, make him reconsider the wisdom of his disrespect;
(2) plead with him to stop;
(3) scold him in a very stern voice as he walks away;
(4) call the police and get the thug arrested, for...something.
As you might agree, (2) and (3) will be utterly ineffective. (4) blows the situation out of proportion, makes it public, and still solves nothing. Meanwhile, (1) just might work.
Violence isn't always the answer. But sometimes a bit of it is better than any of the alternatives.
We used to keep boxing gloves around the battalion. Often a bit of a kerfuffle solves things quicker and more efficiently than more "civilized" alternatives.
Plus, you gotta love a guy who stands up for Vols traditions and respect.