I know that you are not equating this to drunk driving, but come on.
I already said that he deserves to be punished, and I have no sympathy for him if he gets fired, but this is not as big a deal as some posters are making it out to be. If you knew the kind of stuff that goes on on every play, especially at the bottom of piles, you might have a slightly different perspective. But this was caught on camera, so this guy is going to get slammed.
How about you "come on?" The MAJOR difference here is that it was not at the 'bottom of a pile', it was not the kind of thing that 'goes on on every play', for God's sake man, the guy on the sidelines was not IN THE GAME.
An opposing player punching your a$$ at the bottom of a pile is far different than being assaulted by a bystander who's not in the game.