An apples to oranges argument. Suspenders Boy pussing out on Bronco is a FAN thing. Not even in the same ballpark as what happened yesterday between two teams.
From watching it a few times, I actually consider Memphis the aggressor. I also have no problem with BYU's initial reaction of trying to save one of their teammates who was being ganged up on. However, all the horrible behavior after that can be placed evenly on both teams. #12 from BYU got what was coming to him and continued to act just as awful as any of the Memphis players. The "They started it argument" is not going to excuse BYU's part of the brawl. Quite honestly, shame on both teams.
And it's not fair, but BYU is going to bear the brunt of this from an image standpoint. While Memphis may have been the aggressor, Memphis is also not a religious institution that goes out of it's way to point out how they have higher moral standards and are "different" from other schools. 5 years from now, people will still remember the "BYU Brawl" and Memphis will be but a foot note. Like I said, that isn't fair, and even I don't agree with it, but when you tie yourself to the hip with your religion and supposed higher standards, you're going to be a target to some degree.
And Big B, as far as Ute fans thinking this hasn't/couldn't/wouldn't happen with their team, all I can say is that so far, it hasn't. Might it happen someday? Certainly. I think any team could find themselves in this position at some point. However, this is really bad timing for BYU from an image standpoint. You're not too removed from a few of your players being involved in a brawl with customers at a Mexican restaurant in which punches were thrown, we've seen Max Hall find himself in a bad spot after being a flag waver for class and morals while calling out Utah and their fans, and now the Miami Beach Brawl.
Is all of that BYU's fault? Certainly not, but it's seriously bad PR for a school that strives for the EXACT opposite kind of press and it comes on the heels of a what could be considered an underachieving season for a team that's trying to present itself as a program that warrants P5 inclusion. The big picture isn't pretty right now.
