OJ Mayo Should be Suspended for the Rest of the Year

(Bloomington, Ind.)  Have you seen the video of OJ Mayo knocking a referee to the floor?  I did just today and not just once or twice.  In fact, at this point, I can't even tell you how many times I've looked at it.  From the comments I've seen, though, viewers seem to overwhelmingly feel the referee "had it out" for Mayo and overdramatized the incident by flopping to the floor.  If you think that, too, you're dead wrong.  Here's why:

1.  Compare Mayo's stride as he walks towards the official with the steps he takes as he's leaving the court after being ejected.  While advancing on the ref, his stride is longer and quicker and, with his upper torso leaning forward, he is moving with more force and purpose than what he is as he exits the court.

2.  Notice the angle that Mayo is walking.  He is bearing straight down on the official as opposed to coming at a wider angle to head him off and intercept him.  He's clearly looking to make contact.

3.  Look closely at Mayo's last step with his right foot as he is about to make contact.  He swings it far out to the right in an effort to keep his bearing on making contact.

4.  By swinging his right foot out, Mayo turned or opened up his upper body so as to make full contact with his left shoulder, arm and left side of his chest with the referee.  Mayo appears to be 4-6 inches taller than the referee so his upper body is higher than that of the official.  As a result, the referee's movement post contact is both to the left and downward.

5.  Mayo makes contact with enough force that, after striking the official, he, himself, is thrown off balance.  In other words, he collides with the ref with such force that once the ref is no longer an impediment to his forward momentum, he lurches forward.  That shows he did not slow up.  He, in effect, ran through the ref.

6.  Now, focus on the referee.  He clearly is not anticipating what is coming because he's looking at the scorer's table and signaling with his hands.  The contact takes him by surprise.

7.  Look at the referee's last steps.  Just prior to contact, his right foot has pushed off the floor and his left foot is striking the floor, which means, of course, that he has transferred his body weight on the left side.  Thus, the referee's body is already inclined to move left as he is knocked off stride by the contact.  That is what sends the referee flying, not flopping.

8.  As the referee falls to the floor, he allows his body to go with the motion rather than trying to counter it.  That's the smart thing to do in a fall.  If you jump from a car, you want your body to go forward with the motion of the car, not backwards and against it.  If you jump from a wall, you hit the ground and roll in the direction your fall takes you.  It's the same principle.

9.  As the referee falls he extends his arms and hands forward, which lead some people to concude he took a "dive."  Wrong again.  Extending your upper extremities as you fall down is the correct thing to do to avoid landing hard on your body or banging your head. 

Now, that you've read this, go look at the clip again.  Pause it and rewind it at every critical juncture to see if you agree with what I see.

Here's what ticks me off.  Mayo hires an attorney and obtains a injunction prohibiting the enforcement of sanctions and then, through his attorney, negotiates a penalty of a three-game suspension.  I guess if your name is OJ and you go to USC you can get away with murder--literally and figuratively.