Aaron McFarling

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Three seconds. Apparently, that's all we need now. Just click it, watch it, label it and move on.

In his 22 years on this planet, Virginia offensive lineman Brad Butler had established a lifetime of good will. On Saturday, he had his three seconds of ignominy, a lunge at the back of a Boston College defender's legs. It's an act that has been replayed over and over again, dissected and criticized on a national level.

It threatens to become his legacy.

We shouldn't let it.

"The films say whatever they say," said Parker LeCorgne, a UVa alumnus in New Orleans. "And obviously they say some things to people that have led to all this hue and cry.

"But the notion that Brad Butler is a dirty player or engages in cheap-play tactics is just completely inconsistent with his character. And I can say that without fear of contradiction, coming from a guy who really spends a lot of time thinking about what sort of character he has, as you can imagine."

I can imagine. After all, Butler dates LeCorgne's daughter. If anybody would conduct a background check, it would be this man.

Nobody is asking you to condone Saturday's play. Even those who know Butler well have mixed views on that. But when it comes to his overall integrity, forged over a much longer period than three seconds, they are unanimous, and they are correct.

Butler deserves to be viewed in context.

"Look, I know his character," said Larry Sabato, director of the UVa Center for Politics. "I can't answer for exactly what happened. I wasn't there. I watched the game on TV. I leave that to the experts in that field.

"All I know is he's an outstanding young man and he's 22. I don't know about you, but I make a lot of mistakes, and I'm 53."

Butler, a government major, is an academic intern for Sabato. He takes this very seriously, just as he takes the rest of his academics. For months, Butler had helped Sabato prepare questions for Sunday's gubernatorial debate. And Sunday, just hours after the play, he spent the entire day in Richmond, helping organizers put on the televised event.

Despite the circumstances, Sabato wasn't surprised that Butler showed.

"He makes you a promise, he does it," Sabato said. "Where he gets the time, I don't know."

Where does he get the time? A lot of people wonder that. Like Jane Testerman of Staunton, who was diagnosed with breast cancer two months ago, then recently got a special delivery from Butler -- a football signed by the entire UVa team.

"She was incredibly touched by it," said her husband, Ross Testerman, whose son is friends with Butler at UVa. "You just don't see that kind of consideration out of young men these days. That verifies Brad better than anything."

David Basten Jr. has a similar story. He grew up right down the street from Butler in Lynchburg. In the past few years, Basten has watched his autistic brother-in-law, Kevin, become good friends with Butler.

With Butler's help, Kevin recently made his high school football team in Hickory, N.C., becoming one of few autistic children to do so.

"It's something that my wife's family has greatly appreciated," Basten said. "A Division I athlete doesn't have a lot of spare time, so the fact that he went out of his way to help Kevin, it's been a remarkable thing.

"That play was so uncharacteristic of Brad. It's a shame because there are so many good things he's done leading up to this that people just don't know about."

Because he is an offensive tackle, Butler probably will never get a chance to make a brilliant, game-changing play that gets national attention and shifts the public perception.

That's OK, his supporters say. All people have to do is meet him, and they'll see.

"You will never meet a more kind-hearted guy," said Brock Saunders, 21, who lives with Butler and other members of the St. Anthony Hall Fraternity at UVa. "He's the guy that when you're sick is calling you and making sure you're OK. He doesn't have a bad bone in his body."

This weekend, Butler will miss his first UVa game since his freshman year. He's made 31 consecutive starts, but because of those three seconds, he will have to sit.

Here's hoping he's not sitting on a branding iron.

Even BC's Alvin Washington, who was so furious with Butler on Saturday that he got himself ejected, seemed to be lobbying a bit for the UVa player to be forgiven.

"I'm sure the guy regrets it," Washington said after the game. "I don't think he wants to go down in history as that type of player."

With any luck, he won't.

"In the end, the truth matters," Sabato said. "And the truth about Brad Butler is he is a fine young person. As people get to know him better, and as other people get to know him, this will fade. I have full confidence in that.

"You know, people are fair when you get right down to it. Most people are very fair. And so with time, just about everything fades."

The clip's not hard to find. Click it, watch it, label it, criticize it, do whatever you want with it.

But remember this: Three seconds don't make the man.