Just because something has been done for a long time doesn't mean you should keep doing it. A professional athlete shouldn't be using a weapon to hit a four year old kid hard enough to leave wounds, period. Nobody should. There's really no need to hit a kid. Plenty of other disciplinary methods have been shown to be more effective, but they aren't as easy so people balk at them.

Does he deserve 2-10 years? Why not? Plaxico Burress went away for 2 years for accidentally shooting himself. Vick went away for killing dogs (another "tradition" according to many.) People go to jail for way less than beating a kid bloody.