As a very wise man once said to me: One &#$%up can erase 20 "attaboys"

The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are likely to lose their leading scorer for a long time, as Romeo Parkes earned an incredible red card by kicking the shit out of Red Bulls II player Karl Ouimette late in last night’s USL match. Parkes actually scored the game’s first goal, only to watch his side concede three to the MLS reserve team. Parkes tried to apologize on Twitter for sending Ouimette to the hospital on a stretcher

I love soccer, but there are times when it (especially the American iteration) too closely resembles aggravated assault with cleats. Erin and I went to see the Portland Timber’s reserve side, T2, play a USL match on Saturday night. As with most lower-level soccer, there were tackles that could be accurately described as borderline muggings. Sometimes I leave matches marvelling that no ankles were snapped and no knee ligaments were shredded by ill-advised and out-of-control tackles.

I don’t know anything about Romeo Parkes or what led up to his vicious assault on Karl Ouimette…not that there’s any sort of justification to be offered. Sadly for Parkes, this is the sort of thing that will follow him around and very possibly even prevent him from finding employment with any American side. The USL immediately suspended Parkes, and the Riverhounds wasted little time in cutting him loose, terminating his contract once they realized he’d be nothing but a huge liability going forward.

One &#$%up…and a career is in jeopardy. Just as Kermit Washington will forever be remembered for breaking Rudy Tomjanovich’s jaw in one moment of anger during an NBA game, so Romeo Parkes will always be known for his unjustified vicious attack on Karl Ouimette.

I hope for Ouimette’s sake that his injuries are minor. No matter what his perceived “crime” may have been in Parkes’ eyes, it didn’t warrant the punishment Parkes meted out. That said, I hope that one out of control moment won’t permanently damage Parkes’ career. I hope he’ll be able to find a side that will take a chance and allow him to prove that he’s more then one ill-considered vicious assault.

It’s true: One &#$%up can erase a laundry list of great things. One out of control moment and two lives are changed, even as they’re forever intertwined. I hope the lessons to be learned will, when all is said and done, be taken to heart…and that both Parkes and Ouimette will move on to better things.