After spitting on, kicking other players, Mizzou student-athlete needs to pay a price | Opinion

The University of Missouri expects its student-athletes to adhere to the code of conduct set forth by Mizzou’s athletic department and the Southeastern Conference, school officials told me this week.

What’s the punishment when a starting football player fails to meet those expectations and is ejected from a game?

Should he suit up the very next week? No.

Johnny Walker Jr. is a fine enough player for MU. On Saturday, Walker, a defensive end, did not have his best day in a Tiger uniform. He kicked one Louisiana State University player and spat on another, according to audio from a game official’s in-stadium microphone.

Outside of missing half a game, we don’t know what other sanctions Walker will face. Any disciplinary matters would be handled internally, Mizzou officials told me.

My guess: Walker plays in Mizzou’s next game against Kentucky. I could be wrong about Walker’s playing status. But he shouldn’t participate.

In this win-at-all costs world of college sports, coaches often turn a blind eye to displays of poor sportsmanship. They shouldn’t.

At minimum, the Mizzou coaching staff or SEC officials should consider other sanctions against Walker, including a possible suspension. He must be held responsible for his behavior during the contest.

Outside of the stadium or arena, kicking or spitting on someone is considered assault. Conference or team officials must act. How else to discourage this sort of behavior in sports?

Walker’s egregious acts drew two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties. He was ejected in the second half of Mizzou’s 49-39 loss to LSU. Per NCAA rules, two such infractions in a single game is an automatic ejection.

As if kicking a player doesn’t warrant serious consequences. Shouldn’t the penalty for spitting on an opposing player be much more severe?

But there is no carryover requiring Walker to miss a game, according to Mizzou officials. In an email, the university’s football program condemned Walker’s actions against LSU.

Will tangible action follow?

“The fact he was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct twice and ejected from the game is not something we condone as a program,” a spokesman for University of Missouri Athletics wrote in an email.

I get it: Football Is a tough, demanding sport. At times, athletes lose their cool. But spitting on someone is downright nasty and has no room in sports at any level.

Germs spread through spit. Saliva could transmit COVID-19 and other illnesses such as the common cold, flu, strep throat and other communicable diseases, according to medical experts.

Plus, it’s outright disrespectful. Walker owes the LSU player an apology, too.

Walker, a redshirt junior from Tampa, has a wonderful backstory. He spent three years in the Missouri program before becoming a full-time starter this year.

I believe in giving young people chances to stay on the straight and narrow. We all deserve the same grace I extend to Walker here. He seems to represent Mizzou well. I’m rooting for the young man to succeed.

But additional punishment is fitting in this situation.

Walker plays a premium position and has a bright future in the sport. He should have used better judgment and not spit on an opposing player.

In time, I’m hopeful he will atone for his unacceptable on-field behavior.