Appleby stands strong against UO

EUGENE, Ore. [HTML_REMOVED] Only the Pit Crew, the Oregon student section seemingly comprised of classless idiots, would make the victim into the villain.

Last year, in the Pac-10 Tournament, Ryan Appleby was the target of one of the most egregious acts in all of college basketball: Aaron Brooks shamelessly assaulted the UW sharpshooter with an elbow to the face. Brooks deserved to be in jail for his actions [HTML_REMOVED] but instead the point guard became a hero to the Oregon faithful.

They chanted that Brooks "owned" Appleby, unabashedly praising their player for his dirty behavior.

The Pit Fools would probably cheer for O.J. Simpson if he were a Duck grad.

The UO students will undoubtedly look to the declined handshake before tip-off as a justification of the anti-Appleby treatment, but I was in attendance [HTML_REMOVED] I witnessed the harassment long before that moment arrived.

Nearly all the student-made signs in the arena attacked Appleby, clearly a premeditated decision. One sign implied the Husky guard was a bitch for needing stitches after the assault; another went so far as to question his sexuality.

You probably didn't see that in the AP game recap or on SportsCenter. Classy kids, huh?

Photocopies of a swollen, bleeding Appleby were distributed among the students and used as ammunition to berate their object of ridicule. Some tried to emulate the image, bandaging their faces as though they themselves were assaulted out of cowardice.

Then came the tip-off incident.

Brooks, whose only attempt to make amends for the unjustified act of violence was to send a note instead of coming clean by talking to Appleby man-to-man, approached the Husky guard hoping all was forgiven.

From my view it looked more like a gesture of politicking than sincerity.

With an outstretched hand, Brooks expected time to wash away the stains of his spineless actions worthy of a felony; Appleby declined his hand, exhibiting that indeed he deserves no exoneration.

"Good for him, as far as I'm concerned," said Spencer Hawes in support of his teammate.

Oregon fans and some of the Oregon media, clearly lapdogs of the assailant, used Appleby's dismissal of the gesture as validation for the behavior, at times casting blame upon the victim.

Maybe someone close to them needs to get socked in the face and then ridiculed for it, to reformulate how they feel.

Appleby stood resolute in his actions after the game. He admitted Brooks' gesture didn't resolve him of a "cheap shot." He went on to note that a one-game suspension [HTML_REMOVED] one that catered solely to what benefited Brooks [HTML_REMOVED] was insufficient.

"There's no reason for me to acknowledge somebody like that," Appleby said.

In the end, any student-led chants against the team [HTML_REMOVED] "F* the Huskies" to be exact [HTML_REMOVED] are dismissible in the name of an age-old rivalry, but the abuse of Appleby just proved the Pit Crew is as classless as their abusive goon of a point guard.

While Brooks led his team to the win, it was Appleby who stood strong in the face of his attacker and the mindless fans in the stands.

Good for him.

Reach columnist Joshua Mayers at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.