No more excuses — Georgia’s arrests fall on Mark Richt
Mark Richt has been buried in police reports since March.
(UPDATED at 3:30 p.m. with booking and suspension.)
Before you dismiss this as just another trivial arrest in a 24-7, TMZ flip-cam media world, ask yourself this:
What would you be thinking if this was Florida or Alabama or Tennessee? Would your first reaction be, “This is no big deal. Everybody is picking on us”?
What if this was Nick Saban or Urban Meyer or Houston “I’m Just Trying To Save The World One Quarterback At A Time” Nutt? Would you really be absolving the head coach — in this case, Mark Richt — of any responsibility?
Georgia’s football program has hit nine on the arrest chart. That’s nine since March.
Kickoff is Saturday. There’s still time to run out of fingers.
Here’s the latest: Campus police have booked freshman safety Alec Ogletree on misdemeanor charges of theft by taking and he has been suspended for the season opener. Ogletree, a prized member of their 2010 recruiting class, is charged with stealing a $35 scooter helmet from the Rankin Smith Center on June 15 (police discovering only this week that the helmet was in his possession).
Forget that we’re only talking about a $35 helmet. There’s no such thing as a minor incident any more. There’s a cumulative effect.
I realize this is difficult for some people to accept. We live for this time of year, not just because of our obsession with college football but because, as Richt said this week, “It’s good to be undefeated.” What you feel in Athens, they feel even in Starkville.
But when nine players get arrested between spring and opening kickoff, something is wrong.
Please, no more apologies.
I’ve had it with apologists. They live among the fan base (who claim police are just out to get athletes). They live among the coaching fraternity (because to blame another coach sets themselves up for higher standards). They live among the media (some of whom are too afraid of burning bridges with the program and not having the coach smile at them any more).
Bottom line: This falls on Richt. It’s his program. It’s his responsibility. It’s on his watch.
He doesn’t have to be the one drinking-and-driving. Or hitting-and-running. Or drinking-and-groping. Richt recruited these players, signed these players and ultimately determined, “They will represent the University of Georgia well.” Either he is picking too many of the wrong guys, or he’s not saying or doing enough of the right things when they get here. Regardless, don’t deny the problem.
Richt said Friday he was “disappointed” and that Ogletree is “responsible for a poor decision and will serve a minimum one-game suspension.” He was so angry when running back Washaun Ealey was arrested for a hit-and-run — which occurred while he was driving with a suspended license — that he didn’t even want to speak to Ealey. That anger is justified. The question is whether his suspension of Ealey will last beyond the Louisiana-Lafayette game — because that’s a small notch above running steps in Sanford Stadium.
Forcing Ealey to miss the South Carolina game — that would hurt. Of course, that also would hurt Georgia, and the South Carolina game is really important, right?
When asked at his news conference this week if, in so many words, there was a flaw in his discipline structure, Richt responded: “The flaw is if a guy does something that deserves to be disciplined and you don’t discipline him. That’s where the flaw is. The flaw is in us as humans. We’re flawed, we’re human, we make mistakes. When we make a mistake, then we get disciplined for it. As long as we have 18- to 22-year old guys who are human beings, they are going to make mistakes. That’s just all there is to it. If you don’t discipline it, you have a problem. If they don’t learn from it, then they have a problem.”
Actually, it goes beyond that. If players don’t learn from it, Richt has a problem. And he does.
No more excuses. This falls on him.
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1,737 comments Add your comment
Just wait
September 4th, 2010
10:07 am
The big shocker is coming, maybe as early as today. You Dawg fans might lose AJ for a lot longer than expected, and it has nothing to do with the trip to Miami. Where there is smoke there is fire.
Give me a break
September 4th, 2010
10:10 am
You bible thumpers need to go to Crystal Cathedral online or find another forum. Whats next? Writing in tongues?
dawgfan
September 4th, 2010
10:10 am
Just wait, the only smoke you see is from the hater bong you have been taking hits off of since 30-24. LOL @ Tech fans hoping and praying something comes of that. You are beyond pathetic.
Charles
September 4th, 2010
10:11 am
Richt obviosuly doesn’t believe AJ. I wouldn’t either. But then again, richt embraces bad behavior so you reap what you sow.
Notso Fast
September 4th, 2010
10:13 am
One way for Coach R to put his food down is these tough 1 games suspensions. That will certainly make a player think twice about doing it again. Really the kid doesn’t deseerve anything until it’s proved he took the helmet. If he did, then he should be off the team. If he didn’t he should play. Because he has the helmet doesn’t mean he took it.
Idot
September 4th, 2010
10:13 am
Phi Beta@10;02AM………Writing positive articles for this rag that Shultz calls a blog, does not get the response from these negative turds, that infest his said rag.
Negativity = Hits on his “blog”.
Shultz Disciples = D-bags.
Nesbitt for Heisman
September 4th, 2010
10:16 am
Richt needs to stop calling these “mistakes”. A mistake is when something happens due to a lack of knowledge…These are gross errors in judgement which exposes the quality of character that Richt is selecting to represent his university. Stealing, driving without a license, groping, etc…these are not mistakes.
dawgfan
September 4th, 2010
10:17 am
Nesbitt for Heisman, is beating up a girl a mistake? I guess so. One game suspension for Robert Hall. Just boys being boys.
Grandmaster P
September 4th, 2010
10:19 am
Yo, clownin on CMR? CMR’s a good man. Stealin’ ain’t good. If ya can’t see CMR is good, you got to be a blind man.
OoltewahDawg
September 4th, 2010
10:19 am
These kids are not being taught at home the difference between right and wrong. It is too bad that spankings went the way of political incorrectness. By the time they are 18 or 19, their morals, or lack of morals is ingrained, and no amount of talking and pleading with them will be successful. McGarity and Richt are gonna have to tighten things up until these kids learn to do what’s right, and not do what’s wrong. If it takes a 3 or 4 game suspension for minor infractions of team rules, of 5-6 games for getting arrested for minor offenses, so be it, and if that means the team has a rough season, too bad. The kids need to understand that how they conduct themselves is a reflection on the University.
When I heard about the latest incident, the first thing through my mind was:: “If you see something laying around that’s not yours, leave it alone.”.This was just one of the things my Dad taught me, and he backed it up with discipline. These kids needed that badly when they were younger.
Idot
September 4th, 2010
10:20 am
The response from all of these holier-than-thou hipocrites is just about what you would expect from a bunch of idiots.
I am surprised that none of them have suggested cutting the kid’s hand off that stole a helmut.
Bob
September 4th, 2010
10:20 am
Stealing a motorcycle helmet
Hitting an empty parked car
“Fleeing the scene” from UGA parking “police”. They don’t even carry a night stick.
Refusing to give your name to UGA police (an incident which was cleared up as an innocent mistake but the AJC continues to include it in the arrest count)
Thug Life!!!!
Jonas Grumby
September 4th, 2010
10:21 am
There’s clearly a problem, but recruiting the “wrong kids” is not it. All the top SEC programs recruited most of these kids. Richt is getting tougher on discipline, but the players have been slow to get the message. Check back next year.
DAWGS ARE CLOWNS
September 4th, 2010
10:23 am
Hey Morons——–This the the AJC—-The largest newspaper in GEORGIA.
They should report on this stuff in GEORGIA.
Why compare what is happening at other schools in other states.
You MORONS are just rrying to deflect the obvious—–bulldogs suk.
Dagny
September 4th, 2010
10:24 am
AJC headline: A.J. Green won’t play today as NCAA probe continues
Forget Green, he’s played his last college game.
Just one more UGAy thug gone down in flames.
dawgfan
September 4th, 2010
10:28 am
Oh well Dagny, we didn’t need him last year against your joke football program so I guess we won’t need him this year either.
30-24. Keep the venom flowin’ Techies. You are the lowest of the low.
Joey
September 4th, 2010
10:28 am
Hey Guys-
85% of AJC readers feel Jeff Schultz is wrong on this issue, yet he continues to write negative articles about how arrests are 100% Richt’s fault.
85% say, when a player is arrested, it’s the PLAYERS’s fault.
15% say, when a player gets arrested, blame RICHT?
Here’s the survey:
http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2010/07/12/blame-mark-richt-hes-not-the-one-whos-embarrassing-uga/
DAWGS DON'T GET IT
September 4th, 2010
10:29 am
UGAYS—-see my posts on page 15—–I will bet anyone $1000 dogs do not win a NC in the next 5 years under Richt or until he is fired. I will meet you in Athens or Snellville today and we will get a 3rd party to hold the $$$$$.
Arrests=Penalties=no NC
PUT UP OR SHUT UP
dawgfan
September 4th, 2010
10:30 am
The Techies sure get quiet when you bring up the Robert Hall issue. All I hear is the sound of the broom sweeping it under the rug.
Time to pose as Florida fans Techies….
Herschel
September 4th, 2010
10:30 am
Attention, everyone, especially dawgtards. We will now observe a moment of silence in memory of Saint Jan Kemp, who exposed the shameful practices at UGA that were initiated and carried out by slimeball Vince Dooley. Dooley’s image as a coach and a nice guy were forever shattered during the trial, not to mention the one million dollars that dawgtards had to pay Saint Jan. These practices of recruiting morons and coddling them for four years, them tossing them out like garbage, are still going on, but at least the world knows what’s going on now.
And now, the moment of silence…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thank you, you may resume your normal activities now.
DAWGS DON'T GET IT
September 4th, 2010
10:32 am
THE ARRESTS AND PENALTIES WILL COST MR. RICHT HIS JOB.
I JUST WISH I COULD MAKE AN EXTRA GRAND OFF YOU UNEDUCATED IDIOTS.
MAYBE 500 OF YOU REDNECKS COULD COME UP WITH $2 A PIECE.
YOU BUNCH OF PIECES OF $HIT!!
Terry
September 4th, 2010
10:33 am
UGA folks can brag all you want to about beating Tech in football most years, and that’s perfectly fair. What’s also fair is to point out that with a history of Jan Kemp (Vince Dooley days), Jim Harrick, and now Damon Evans, UGA is truly “The Cesspool of the South,” and is richly deserving of that title. No one outside of Georgia has any respect for UGA or its athletic department, and that is a fact. It has been said many times: “Tech people are proud of their school, Georgia people are proud of their team.” What a legacy to be proud of!
UGA fans can now return to your mobile home parks and resume waiting for your unemployment checks.
And watching those red panties falling from the sky, always a good time-killer for thUGA dawgtards. :-) :-) :-)
dd
September 4th, 2010
10:36 am
Doesn’t matter. Tech still has ugly women!!
Jan
September 4th, 2010
10:36 am
Schultz is doing a great public service in helping to expose the thugs at UGAy. And the head thug, Saint Richt.
Thank you!
Nurse Rachet
September 4th, 2010
10:36 am
The story here is not that another Georgia player got arrested for petty theft; it is not that Richt continues to have players arrested this year; it is not that Jeff Schultz is picking on the Georgia program. The real story is just how far some of you fanatic Georgia fans will go to excuse whatever a Ga player does in order to keep him playing for the Dogs. He’s just a kid;everybody does it; Schultz hates the dogs; it’s not Richt’s fault; where is the story on the Bama de; etc, etc, etc. You folks are one sick bunch of fans. You obviously have no class; obviously have no sense of responsibility; and just as obviously believe that the ends justify the means; just keep em playing coach!!! Do other schools have classless fans as well; you betcha. But this is a blog about a Ga player with primarily comments from Ga fans on another arrest. Most of you need to grow up and be adult enough to admit that Ga has a problem this year- AGAIN!!! Take your excuses elsewhere.
DAWGS ARE CLOWNS
September 4th, 2010
10:38 am
I agree with DDGI—–the low-lifes that work at Walmart to save money for their UGALY hat would steal you blind. That is why they think it is OK to just let it go.
Trailer-Trash is the UGA WAY.
we was just brought up in broken home—that bes why we takes anythang that is not tied down!
Recruit character Richt—-but you will need someone to clue you in on what character IS.
DawgNation
September 4th, 2010
10:38 am
1627 and counting. Congratulation Jeff you succeeded in your quest to get the most hits for this rag from the most obnoxious group of haters and complete morons.
Nurse Rachet
September 4th, 2010
10:40 am
DawgNation After reading the lame excuses from the dawg lovers it is apparent who the complete morons are- that be you.
DawgNation
September 4th, 2010
10:41 am
My point continues to be made.
Getthefacts
September 4th, 2010
10:45 am
Jeff, Please get the facts before you go on with your quest to have Coach Richt follow all 85 players all day long! The young man was going to ride a scooter with his friend. He needed a helment to ride on the back of the scooter. He saw a helmet on an adjacent scooter. He took it in a moment of poor judgement. He was wrong. He shouldn’t have done it. He got caught. Let me ask you a question, How is Mark Richt supposed to stop that? Let’s be realistic, please!
EMBARRASSEDAWG
September 4th, 2010
10:48 am
I would just like to say “when is enough enough Coach”?
I travel every week and as an Alumni I wear my red and black proud but even I am beginning to get tired of answering for these guys.
Coach, we are sick of this and nationwide—we are an embarrassed and ashamed to keep getting the looks and laughs..
I don’t know what we the nation in—(i.e. arrests, penalties, etc). but I know I was 10 years when we last won a National Championship.
I have seen Florida, Alabama and LSU win Championships without all this going on to the extent it is happening at UGA.
Coach—-You are the solution…………or the PROBLEM.
DawgNation
September 4th, 2010
10:50 am
Getthefacts,
Where did you get those facts from? If that is a theory of yours then it is not facts and is just as bad as Jeff not getting all the facts before he publishes an inflammatory blog.
Schultz = Idiot
September 4th, 2010
10:51 am
I don’t like players from my alma mater being arested — But Schultz and all the others on here making all this about teenagers doing stupid things — YOU ARE IDIOTS. Yes it happens at ever school – yes it happens in the same dang percentages among college students who are NOT football players. Teenagers haven’t really changed people the only thing that has really changed?
IDIOTS in the media with instant platforms, pubilicity that runs faster than a wildfire in Malibu, and people thinking a football coach should also be a Daddy, Momma, Truant officer, counselor, life coach, etc.
I don’t care if it’s Richt, Saban, Miles, Kiffin, or whoever — kids are gonna be kids no matter what DISCIPLINE you enforce — get over it and get over yourselves.
EMBARRASSEDAWG
September 4th, 2010
10:52 am
DawgNation
Please do not continue to add to the insane statements on this blog. If you are a true dawg—-aren’t you the at least a little pi$$ed off at all of the problems at UGA.
We deserve better than continued embarrassment.
UGA police
September 4th, 2010
10:55 am
In Athens, we don’t call the coaches first when athletes are involved, we book ‘em. The coaches get the call in most other jurisdictions, and this sort of stuff is never heard about again.
Tired of this
September 4th, 2010
10:57 am
@Getthefacts
This is stopped by recruiting responsible people.
A large taxpayer supported university should not revolve around what eleven young men do on twelve saturdays a year.
Had it
September 4th, 2010
10:58 am
Whomever said “cut their hand off”
Hell yes——Cot the MF’s hand off and I mean it.
THUGS NEED TO BE CONTROLLED.
THEY WANT STEAL WITH THAT HAND ANYMORE. THAT IS FOR DAM SURE.
Smokey
September 4th, 2010
10:58 am
Some good points made here about all the good things some of these players do. The nature of media beign what it is, all the goody two shoes things players do are BORING. Yawn. A player makes a mistake and it’s a SENSATION. Off with CMRs head. Sheesh.
GR82BAG8R
September 4th, 2010
11:00 am
From pre-season no. 1 two years ago, to number 1 Party School and Fulmer Cup Champions….you could not make this stuff up. What’s even more entertaining is all the postings trying to explain away or defend this situation. To all those lashing out at other teams’s fans for making fun of Georgia: If the situation were reversed, wouldn’t you be doing the same thing?
Had it
September 4th, 2010
11:01 am
LET’S RECRUIT THE FIRST ALL=WHITE TEAM TO WIN A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN 45 YEARS.
THAT WOULD BE A STATEMENT!!
THEY WOULD GO ALL 4 YEARS WITH NO ARRESTS AND NO PENALTIES.
AND MAYBE 4 NC.
John
September 4th, 2010
11:02 am
Well, here goes post 1,638. I hope I get a kudos from the esteemed blogmaster.
Schultz, your outrage over the deportment of UGA football players must have been teetering perilously close to the brink since arrest #8 if this petty offense (#9) proved to be the last straw.
What’s of more concern to me than the rampant lawlessness among jocks is that UGA cops would spend over THREE MONTHS investigating the theft of a $35 motor scooter helmet. An item that was the collective property of the Athletic Department (Smith Athletic Center) to begin with. It ain’t like Ogletree broke into somebody’s dorm room and heisted their flat screen. Hell, the helmets are probably tossed in a bin somewhere and players pull ‘em out as needed.
Send Ogletree to bed without his supper. He was a bad boy. But lets be rational about this. What’s next, overdue library books?
FSUNoleInDC
September 4th, 2010
11:03 am
Richt gets waxed by scar and arky he won’t be around much longer. UGA is a program in turmoil. His players don’t respect him, otherwise they would stop embarrasing themselves and him..stupid punks
Ken Edwards
September 4th, 2010
11:03 am
THANK YOU JEFF SCHULTZ!! It’s about time somebody said it.
UGASUX
September 4th, 2010
11:03 am
Coach, you want to make a point about discipline? How about punishing them for the South Carolina game? Oh no, that’s not going to happen, after all is all about the W’s and not character and integrity.
FSUNoleInDC
September 4th, 2010
11:03 am
don’t forget uga has a recruit coming in that was suspended from school and wasnt allowed to play
this year and is still coming to athens..
DawgNation
September 4th, 2010
11:04 am
EMBARRASSEDDAWG,
Yes I am more that a little ticked off with the developments that has gone on for more than 5 years and doesn’t seem to have been addressed. I am however not privy to what goes on internally in regards to discipline nor am I a judge and executioner that Jeff has seemed to made himself to be in regards to anything to do with Richt or UGA football. I am not happy with the way things are going and have stated that on the first page of this blog but I don’t believe CMR should be held accountable for morals and discipline that should have been installed by these kids parents from the first day and obviously hadn’t. His job is to punish and I believe, as you, more sternly now. I don’t believe Jeff’s blogging should be the bases for what the University and CMR should do since he has an obvious dislike for him as I stated earlier. Yes I am a long time Bulldog fan and am very concerned but I will not join in the hang the players and fire the coach mentality that is permeating these blogs. Sorry if that goes against your feelings but I respect your right to feel the way you do and express it in a civil manner not with vile hate that is being spewed all over these blogs.
EMBARRASSEDAWG
September 4th, 2010
11:07 am
John
Please go away—-You are another enabler and that is our problem.
Coach has got to end this nonsense now!
Arlene
September 4th, 2010
11:07 am
THANK YOU JEFF SCHULTZ!! It’s about time somebody said it.
Amen. This was one of Jeff’s finest columns. Somebody needed to say it!
Schultz = Idiot
September 4th, 2010
11:08 am
…..and to all you Tech fans who think your school is so superior academically and holier than thou. If you think your school hasn’t had as many stupid teenager incidents as UGA or that your exclusive “Management” major where 80% of your football players end up “hidden” in isn’t a complete farce. You’ve had just as many academic problems and ineligible players — get over yourselves too. Does Richt and other coaches have to bear some responsibility? Sure — but to make it all of this — get a life people.
GR82BAG8R
September 4th, 2010
11:09 am
Hmmm….on one side we have Arlene and Ken Edwards, and on the other side we have “dawg”fan and “Dawg”Nation….. Do we have a rift in the Bulldog Nation?