For getting two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties and being ejected at Rutgers Saturday, West Virginia star wide receiver Chris Henry should be suspended for a game.

For making a spectacle of himself and disrespecting West Virginia coach Rich Rodriguez on the sideline afterward, Henry should get another game.

And for raising his left hand and extending his middle finger at the Rutgers crowd as he left the field, Henry should be gone for the season.

They're probably glad in West Virginia that I don't coach the Mountaineers.

Rodriguez is handling Henry's discipline with, apparently, a lighter touch. He said Henry won't start or play in the first half against Temple tomorrow in Morgantown. He left the punishment "open-ended," saying Henry "probably won't play in the game."

Translation:

I'm leaving myself an out just in case something crazy happens and we need this kid to beat slappy Temple.

Rodriguez went so far as to suggest Henry might not play again this season if he doesn't show the proper contriteness and doesn't handle his, ahem, suspension with maturity.

Right.

The guess here is Henry will be deemed suitably rehabilitated by Rodriguez by no later than a week from tomorrow when the No. 15 Mountaineers play No. 24 Boston College in Morgantown with at least a share of the Big East Conference title likely at stake.

Coaches are so transparent.

It's not just Rodriguez. Almost all give the benefit of the doubt to their players when it comes to discipline, especially when a key player is involved.

Pitt coach Walt Harris suspended quarterback Rod Rutherford for one quarter of the opener against Kent State last season after Rutherford was involved in an early morning incident at Station Square the Monday before the game. One quarter! What kind of punishment is that?

Even Penn State coach Joe Paterno -- once a rock as a disciplinarian -- is growing more lax as he approaches 80. In his most recent highly publicized decision, he allowed cornerback Anwar Phillips to play in the Capitol One Bowl after the 2002 season even after Phillips was expelled from school because of a sexual assault case. Phillips was later acquitted of the charges, but that's beside the point. Even Dr. Graham Spanier said Phillips shouldn't have been allowed to play. Of course, his opinion doesn't count as much as Paterno's. He's just the university president.

Here's another way of looking at all of this:

If a backup guard had been expelled or been involved in an incident at a bar or flipped the bird to the fans, would the discipline have been so light?

I don't think so, either.

Maybe this is partly our fault. We put extraordinary pressure on the coaches to win. Rodriguez, who is in his fourth season and has done a marvelous job making West Virginia a national power, hasn't been around long enough to feel it. But Harris is under fire despite being on the verge of leading Pitt to a fifth consecutive bowl. And Paterno, who keeps reminding us that he has coached for 55 years, is being asked by snot-nosed media types if he deserves to come back next season.

Millions of dollars are at stake. That's what a Big East championship and trip to the Fiesta or Sugar Bowl would mean to West Virginia. It's no wonder university presidents stand aside and allow coaches to go easy with their discipline. Spanier, it should be noted, offered his opinion about the Phillips' situation -- much to Paterno's annoyance -- but didn't keep Phillips from playing in the bowl.

Coaches also feel an obligation to their other players. The players work hard all year to win a championship. In West Virginia's case, is Rodriguez going to sabotage their chances by coming down hard on a star player?

That's just not going to happen.

It's unfortunate because Henry deserves serious punishment. His obscene gesture was reprehensible. It wasn't fair to the people who paid big money to watch the game. It especially wasn't fair to the kids at the game who -- misguidedly, I admit -- look up to these knuckleheads as role models.

Henry's actions also were unfair to his teammates. He let them down by getting thrown out even after Rodriguez had warned the team repeatedly about taking thoughtless personal foul penalties. And as for that gesture? That's not the classy way that Rodriguez demands they handle themselves. Henry shouldn't be allowed to get away with a slap on the wrist just because he's one of the best receivers in the Big East.

Rodriguez was right to chastise Henry publicly. He said Henry had embarrassed himself, his team and his university. Those are strong words. But they will mean something only if there's strong punishment to go with them.

Don't hold your breath.