Last Friday, the Texas Tech Red Raiders tennis team lost a hard-fought battle against TCU in Lubbock. The Horned Frogs got them a share of the Big 12 title, and everything was hunky-dory.

Here's what the TCU Tennis Coach David Roditi had to say after the match: "I thought it was a great effort by our whole squad to get out of Lubbock with a win," said David Roditi. "A share of the Big 12 title was on the line. They had a passionate crowd, windy conditions, and they're good. It's a tough place to play."

It's such a tough place to play that one of TCU's players actually spat in the face of a Red Raider fan. I guess everything wasn't hunky-dory after all.

During the course of the matches, Texas Tech's Isaac Arevalo was facing off with TCU's Juan Martin, when the TCU player spit on a Texas Tech fan on his way off the court, leaving the match unfinished.

The Big 12 seemingly didn't care. More accurately, they cared very little.

It's always been a terrible thing to spit in someone's face. Despicable really. But to do it in an era of caution due to the coronavirus? Is that not assault? The same league that has taken every caution and canceled numerous events because of the pandemic. Even though we're entering the clearing, aren't we now expected to live in a "new normal"?

Hasn't the Big 12 been preaching safety for more than a year, and yet spitting in strangers' faces gets what? That's right: a public reprimand.

Here it is in full from the Big 12 website:

In accordance with Big 12 Conference sportsmanship policies, TCU men’s tennis student-athlete Juan Martin has been issued a public reprimand for his conduct during Friday’s match at Texas Tech.  The reprimand is in addition to a two-match suspension levied by TCU in response to Martin spitting on a Red Raider fan while leaving the court.
“There is no place for this type of behavior,” stated Commissioner Bob Bowlsby. “Game participants are expected to maintain composure and not engage negatively with fans, regardless the circumstances.”

The Big 12 conference loves itself some public reprimands. They publicly reprimanded a West Virginia player for pushing a Texas Tech fan, but only after publicly reprimanding Texas Tech fans for rushing the court. Former basketball head coach Chris Beard got one last year after his tirade at the end of the West Virginia game. Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt got a public reprimand and a fine for talking about the Baylor butt snap.

Sure, there's also a suspension, but that was from the school. The Big 12 coming in and releasing this statement is just more fluff and utterly useless garbage from a league that doesn't care about discipline...unless they can fine the school and make some money off the infraction.

If the Big 12 cared about players' and fans' safety, TCU's Martin shouldn't play another match this season. But the conference only cares about optics, and a public reprimand scores high on the optic scale.

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