Tony Woods gets off easy in court

The legal results are in for Tony Woods.

Less than a month after Woods assaulted his girlfriend, which resulted in a fracture in the young woman's spine, the 6'11" junior appeared in court. Woods, who is scheduled to be Wake Forest's starting center, plead guilty to one misdemeanor (he was charged with three, carrying the potential for 20 years in prison) and received a 60 day suspended sentence, he must perform 100 hours of community service, and is required to go through an anger management course.

Tony Woods got off easy legally. What will Wake Forest do?
(photo credit: Washington Post)

From the Winston-Salem Journal:

Woods and [Courtney Lorel] Barbour were in the bedroom with their 8-month-old son when they started arguing, Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Martin said. The mothers of Barbour and Woods were both in the living room at the time. Woods picked up his son and began to leave. Barbour tried to get the child back but Woods turned around and kicked her and pushed her away, Martin said. Barbour's mother told authorities that Woods had drawn back his fist as if to hit her again but didn't, Martin said.

The punishment seems light, but there may be a couple of explanations. Barbour told Martin that her injury could have occurred when she fell out of a bed a few days before the incident. She also told prosecutors that she didn't want Woods punished, she wanted him to be forced to get counseling and anger management. That could explain why the punishment Woods received was so light.

That said, it will be interesting to see what Jeff Bzdelik does to punish Woods. Tre'Von Willis went through a similar situation this summer, and he received a similar punishment. Willis was given, essentially, a one game suspension by head coach Lon Kruger, a punishment that was widely criticized.

What will Bzdelik do?

Fracturing a woman's spine is a serious, especially when done in the presence of the victim's mother, the attacker's mother, and the child of the victim and the attacker. But Woods is also the only big man on the Demon Deacon's roster with any kind of experience.

No doubt he is a very important piece to Wake's puzzle.

But teaching a lesson here may be even more important.