Butler plays Middle Tennessee State on Saturday night and one very important fan won’t be there. The NCAA has banned Butler Blue III, better know as the Butler bulldog from watching the game.

Some ludicrous NCAA rule states that live mascots aren’t permitted in the early rounds of NCAA competition, meaning the Butler bulldog won’t be able to watch any of March Madness live until the Final Four (should Butler make it that far). In the pantheon of dumb NCAA bylaws this might be one of the dumbest.

Let’s try to explore the logic here.

POINT: Live animals on a basketball court could be a distraction.

COUNTERPOINT:

POINT: They could make a mess in an neutral arena, causing delays.

COUNTERPOINT:

Dogs be jealous because I get my @koppscustard curbside. pic.twitter.com/x3O2dNviWT — Butler Blue III (@ButlerBlue3) March 17, 2017

POINT: There’s no telling how the Butler bulldog would act around other mascots.

COUNTERPOINT:

POINT: It’s not fair to other schools with live animal mascots who can’t be on the court.

COUNTERPOINT:

Yo, @NBCSports, I got really good at the treadmill thing since we last talked. Went next level with it. #marchmadness #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/SX5MjonsHm — Butler Blue III (@ButlerBlue3) March 16, 2017

I think we’ve established beyond a shadow of a doubt that banning a very good dog from watching basketball isn’t just a labored rule that needs to be reversed. It’s a travesty.

#FreeButlerBlue