Violation of Man Code Leaves UCLA Tennis Player in Critical Condition

There are two sets of rules that govern a man's life. The first, obviously, is the law. But clearly, that's insufficient when it comes to the choices a man makes; people commit crimes all the time. Okay, that's an exaggeration; it's not like Joe Buck has a six-page rap sheet. But prosecutors and public defenders aren't exactly hurting for work these days.

That's because there's also the Man Code, which focuses primarily on defending the honor of one's self and one's loved ones. Sounds good until you realize that the whole "defending honor" usually involves physical assault. Oh, and there's also aggressive driving. Yeah. But even then, the fighting has a few rules, namely that there has to be an offer to fight (and a legitimate reason). You can't just pull one of these:

Guy 1: Knock knock.
Guy 2: Who's there?
1: Bro.
2: Bro who?
1: BROKEN EYE SOCKET MOTHAF---A BLADOWWW!!!
2: AAAAAAH WHAT WAS THAT FOR MY EYE IS BLEEDING OH JESUS OW
1: BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE BITCH
2: AAAAAAH AAAAAAH AAAAAAAAH

But that's exactly what happened to a UCLA tennis player, and now he's in critical condition in a Dallas hospital. Jake Fleming was attending a Rascal Flatts concert with friends last weekend when somebody said something about somebody.

One punch was thrown without warning, Fleming was dropped and hit his head on the concrete, and now he's still in a medically induced coma at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas.

After the concert, Fleming and his friends were about to catch a taxi in the 4200 block of South Fitzhugh Avenue, on the southeast side of Fair Park. That's when multiple men approached.

"He was absolutely blindsided," said Steve Fleming, who spoke with the men who were with his son. Another man in Fleming's group also was punched but suffered minor injuries.

The attacker and others ran toward the party bus and left. Investigators said the assailant may not have realized how badly he injured Fleming. He and those who were with him should come forward, they said.

Again, to repeat, this is neither legal nor mansome. The assailant being sought, one Chancellor Jay Hutcheson, probably didn't intend to put Fleming in critical condition, but intentions aren't going to stop the swelling in Fleming's brain (doctors are expecting a full recovery, by thw way). He's wanted for second-degree felony aggravated assault, as well as one count of acting like a punk bitch.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.