Throwing Shoes Instead of Footballs...

Florida’s defensive back Marco Wilson is the athlete under fire this week after he threw his shoe and now had to pay a penalty for it. Allegedly, he threw his shoe 20 yards down the field and that is considered “unsportsmanlike”. According to USA Today, “The redshirt junior was penalized late in the fourth quarter of a tied game after he threw the shoe of LSU tight end Kole Taylor, which had ended up in his hands following a third-down stop.

That 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty kept a late LSU drive alive, and the Tigers were able to take a 37-34 lead with 23 seconds to go when kicker Cade York drilled a 57-yard field goal through the uprights at a foggy Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. “ It is understandable how angry Wilson was, but most players just walk away in rage instead of taking their anger out in the field with objects that can hurt someone.

“You can’t win doing what we did tonight, no matter what’s going on and who you’re playing,” Florida coach Dan Mullen said. “Minus-three turnover ratio, we don’t score touchdowns in the red zone, we can’t make key stops when we need to defensively and we lose the special teams part of the game.”

According to ESPN, Mullen stated he didn’t think the shoe throwing was to taunt anybody. "It's a shame. It's pretty unfortunate in that situation. I don't think there was any intent to taunt, and it wasn't like he was throwing it at their sideline or doing any of that. It was a huge play, he thought possibly a game-winning play, and he kind of threw the shoe and went to celebrate with his teammates, and unfortunately, it was a penalty. So, I think that (was) a mistake instead of somebody really trying to disrespect the game or taunt the opponent."

There have been jokes made about this situation to make some light out of it. The Orlando essential headlined their version of the story as “Gators should be renamed FSU — Fling Shoe U”. This one mistake will not cost him his whole career but it will definitely follow him as it is a learning experience to him. It is safe to say, after the penalty was given Marco realized what he did not only caused him a penalty but also the whole team. The team now prepared for their next game, with hopes of taking home a W this time.