Steve Spurrier calls out Florida DL Brendan Bett for spitting penalty: 'That was ridiculous'

Former Florida coach Steve Spurrier put Gators defensive lineman Brendan Bett on blast for spitting on an opposing player Saturday. Bett was ejected from the game after the incident, which occurred in the fourth quarter of a tight contest against USF.

The penalty and ejection granted USF 15 yards and a first down and put the Bulls firmly on the move, trailing 16-15. Only 2:07 remaining after the penalty and USF would chew up all the time on the clock before kicking the game winning field goal as time expired to win, 18-16.

The unsportmanlike conduct penalty was won of two flags thrown on the Gators that helped jump start that final drive for the Bulls. Spurrier discussed how costly the penalty on Bett ended up being and why it was such a boneheaded move in his opinion.

“We thought our defense might could hold them but then had that stupid spitting penalty that has become the fashion,” Spurrier said on Anthony Dooley Noted Podcast. “I guess he saw the NFL guy do it and said, ‘I can do it.’ I hope not. But that was ridiculous.”

The spitting incident by Brendan Bett was the second one this week, which might make it all the more confounding. The highly visible Thursday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles also included a spitting incident.

In that game, Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter was ejected in the first quarter after spitting on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. The NFL has not yet ruled whether Carter will face a suspension for the incident, but he should at the very least pay a hefty fine.

Spurrier added that he finds the recent trend odd. Spitting certainly wasn’t something that he had to deal with when he was coaching.

“That never happened for or against us,” he said. “People just didn’t spit back in the 70s, 80s, 90s.”

Gators coach Billy Napier told reporters Monday that he had not yet made a decision on whether Bett would be suspended for an upcoming game against LSU in Week 3. But he did outline what the defensive lineman has done to show his remorse.

There’ll be some internal discipline,” Napier said. “Obviously, he was suspended (against South Florida). And, you know, he’ll have an opportunity today to apologize to the team and he’s going to apologize publicly. We’re even having him reach out to the young man on the other team. So, no stone unturned here in terms of maximizing this for him to learn, and also, I think, for our other players to see how to take ownership of a mistake, you know, and go about this the right way.”