Chimezie Metu suspended for half, loses captainship following groin punch
USC junior Chimezie Metu threw one of the worst cheap shots of the season on Sunday night when he punched an opponent in the groin. He was hit with a flagrant foul and ejected from the game for the egregious act, but the school decided that was not punishment enough.
Still, many believe Metu is getting off easy.
According to Scott Wolf of the Los Angeles Daily News, USC has suspended Metu for the first half of Thursday’s game against Cal. The star forward has also been stripped of his captaincy and had to issue an apology.
#USC suspended Chimezie Metu for a half vs. Cal, made him surrender his captaincy and issue an apology letter after he punched player in groin. The Pac-12 will not punish further. Seems like he got off a little light
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) January 2, 2018
Maybe this is the worst part of Metu suspension via Larry Scott: “We commend USC and its leadership for taking swift action in response to this incident."
— InsideUSC (@InsideUSC) January 2, 2018
Here’s a video of the play where Metu decked Washington State’s Carter Skaggs below the belt:
WHAT ON EARTH????? pic.twitter.com/AOLy4cqNSI
— The Final Horn (@thefinalhornpod) January 1, 2018
It’s a bit surprising that the Pac-12 didn’t step in and suspend Metu for an entire game. We have seen NBA players get suspended for similar acts in much bigger games, so it’s no surprise people feel the punishment for Metu was too light.
Metu, a first-round NBA prospect, is averaging 17.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season.
