Oregon’s Dan Lanning Announces Bear Alexander Punishment Decision

The UCLA Bruins are off to a 5-0 start under first-year head coach Bob Chesney, but Saturday’s 17-15 win over the Oregon Ducks came at a cost.

Starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava exited the game near the end of the second quarter after going down with a knee injury.

Iamaleava is expected to miss the rest of the season because of that injury, but he also left the game with a brutal parting shot from Oregon defensive tackle Bear Alexander.

Though he was already down after being tackled on a play, Iamaleava absorbed a vicious hit to the head from Alexander. There was no flag called on the play, but video of the incident went viral on social media clearly showing Alexander clocking Iamaleava square in the helmet.

Many were wondering if Alexander would face any kind of punishment — some were expecting at least a one-game suspension — however, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning seemingly didn’t think any discipline was necessary.

“Oregon head coach Dan Lanning says DL Bear Alexander will not face any punishment for his play on QB Nico Iamaleava,” On3 reported. “Lanning said it was a “ball shot.” He added Alexander ‘feels bad about it.’”

UCLA head coach Bob Chesney told reporters on Monday that Iamaleava admitted to him on the sidelines that Alexander punched him in the head and he felt a flag should’ve been thrown.

Chesney disclosed that after watching replays of what happened, he’s disappointed that the officials didn’t catch it and flag Alexander for hitting his QB.

“‘I’m like alright, I’ll take a look and tell the refs, but I didn’t see it because it was on their sideline,” Chesney said. “But when you see it, it’s certainly egregious. It shouldn’t be a play that is allowed to occur in the sport, and it’s a shame that that was missed.”

Though Alexander won’t face any punishment for what he did, social media doesn’t seem keen on letting him live it down anytime soon.