My opinion is thusly stated:
Unless she is armed, you don't hit a woman. For the most part, guys just know how to hit, and are just physically stronger and capable of inflicting more damage. I can slap the shit out of someone, but me trying to punch a guy? Gonna break my hand and do very little damage to him. One right cross to my nose tho, and I am in serious shape.
Now, if I am armed, even with a purse or a set of keys, whale away to the extent necessary to make me back the hell off.
I also think that this guy has to be MASSIVELY bigger than her. Even if she managed to punch him, you can't tell me he doesn't take harder licks every day on the practice field. Being an athlete, unless he is Andre Smiff, he is probably in top shape and very strong. His potential to damage to her is much greater than her potential to do damage to him. That is just a fact, fair or not.
If the police report is to be believed, it even said that he WENT CHASING AFTER HER... so he has PLENTY of chance to get the hell out of there.
So for those reasons, as well as the oft-stated "He should have walked away and never even been in that situation.", I think Satan went too lightly on him.
If Eric Smith had been in a fight with a girl, under these circumstances, I would want him suspended for at least one significant game. All the hype about turning boys into men, building character, blah blah - if building a man of character involves letting him tee off on a woman, then color me not too damn impressed with your "process".
Oh - and her daddy is a dickhead. She may be a slut - or maybe not - but you keep that shit inside the family. You do not air your personal crap to the media about your kid in defense of some athlete from the program you openly support. If she is promiscuous, I wonder about the kind of daddy issues she may have, what with such a wonderful parental support system at home and all...
Side story. The only man to ever raise a hand to me other than my daddy was a cop. One of my daddy's cops. Daddy had told me not to date him, but I did anyway. Turned out he was a dick and an asshole both, and one night when I informed him of both of those facts as I endeavored to walk out, he slapped me. First thing I did was tell his captain, who put him on midnights for the rest of his short career. Second thing I did was tell my daddy. My daddy did not take the cop's side and in private, I got yelled at for dating him anyway. But daddy also did not make a big scene about it - in my tiny town, this would have been scandal for weeks. What he did do was go to the cop and make sure that he understood that it would not be in his best interests to come within a hundred yards of me ever again or bad things would happen.
I know none of you have met my father. He is not a big guy - just over 6 feet. But when he gets quiet and clenches his jaw when he talks to you, it makes you want to wet yourself. Seriously. There are felons in Calhoun County who get very quiet when you mention my daddy.