This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The Western Athletic Conference will not take any disciplinary action against Nevada senior offensive lineman John Bender for his below-the-waist block on BYU's Romney Fuga that ended the Cougar nose tackle's season, a WAC spokesperson said Tuesday afternoon. "It was ruled as not being flagrant and no further action will be taken," said Jason Erickson, WAC director of media relations. Erickson told The Tribune on Monday that WAC commissioner Karl Benson and supervisor of officials Jim Blackwood were reviewing the incident. The conference will have no further comment on the matter. Nevada coach Chris Ault spoke Monday as if he would not sanction Bender either, calling the low block a clipping penalty that should have been called, but wasn't. Fuga suffered tears to two ligaments in his knee on the play and will need surgery. He is out for the remainder of the 2010 season. BYU coaches hope he can return in time for the 2011 season. BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall said he submitted tape of the play to conference officials on Monday, but that there was nothing else he could do about the incident that left the Cougars without one of their best defensive players. Tuesday, Mendenhall said Fuga will be difficult to replace, if not impossible. "I don't think the void is fill-able, as Romney played the postiion through the first three games and a quarter this year. He was playing as good as any nose tackle that I have coached before. But maybe even more than that, just his consistency and his dedication in really embracing the culture of our team. And he is one of the more experienced players on our team that has played quite a bit and knows what it is like, and knows what the expectations are. That part could be missed maybe even more than his play."—————————— Nevada's Ault said on Monday that Bender was sickened by the result of his actions and was remorseful that it happened. However, Bender wrote the following on his Twitter account: "No flag, no foul."