Grantham’s antics were over the line — it’s not even close
Todd Grantham appears to be giving "choke" sign before Florida lines up for field goal attempt.
(Tuesday, 8 p.m.: This blog has been updated throughout, now that Georgia coach Mark Richt has confirmed that defensive coordinator Todd Grantham gave the choke sign and shouted something well south of the King’s English at Florida kicker Chas Henry Saturday. Just added: Grantham quotes)
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This isn’t about football. This isn’t about how we’re just too politically correct, or about how some of us just aren’t tough enough, or how we’re all just picking on the poor Georgia Bulldogs because, you know, that’s just what the leftist, evil media does.
This is about right and wrong. A 44-year-old college coaching grabbing his throat multiple times and shouting, “You’re gonna [bleepin'] choke,” at the opponent’s 21-year-old kicker?
Folks, that’s wrong. It’s over the line. It’s not even a close call.
Todd Grantham shouting “Choke” at the opposing player doesn’t make him or his team any tougher or better. It just makes him look classless. The Georgia defensive coordinator owes everybody an apology, from the Bulldogs’ program to Florida kicker Chas Henry, the target of Grantham’s sideline antics in Jacksonville.
Dogs coach Mark Richt confirmed Tuesday what had become obvious Monday, when he was unavailable for comment. Grantham gave the choke sign to Henry multiple times and he was wrong for doing so. The picture above tells part of the story. The two videos below tell more of it. In short, Grantham — who can be a little on the excitable side, which in itself isn’t a bad thing — let his competitive spirit push him over the line of what’s right and wrong. He grabbed his throat four times while the Florida kicker lined up for a 37-yard field goal attempt in overtime.
Henry, a native of Dallas, Ga., acknowledged seeing and hearing Grantham but he made the kick anyway, giving the Gators a 34-31 win.
The above screen grab from the Florida sports cable network “Sun Sports” showed Grantham on the sideline. Below are two videos:
VIDEO No. 1: Here is Henry’s post-game interview with CBS when he references what he saw when he looked to the Georgia sideline during the timeout. Quote: “Some of their coaches on the sideline were giving me a little grief, saying I was gonna choke.”)
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VIDEO No. 2: Here’s one view of Grantham going through his motions before the kick, via Sports by Brooks.)
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It was at about 6:30 p.m. Monday night when Pat Dooley of the Gainesville Sun sent a note out on Twitter: “Just checked the CBS broadcast again. Todd Grantham grabs his neck and says ‘You’re gonna bleepin’ choke. You’re gonna choke’ to Henry.”
By then, it was clear that Richt had a mess to clean up, and for once it had nothing to do with his players and the Athens-Clarke County police department
As I wrote earlier, it would be understandable — even expected — that Grantham would think, “Choke!” or “Miss it!” in his head. It wouldn’t even be surprising if a Georgia player yelled, “Choke!” or grabbed his neck. But that’s not something a college coach should be doing, and Richt acknowledged that.
Grantham himself expressed regret about the incident, saying after Tuesday’s practice: “As a competitor, sometimes you get caught up in the heat of the moment. I wish the situation hadn’t happened.”
Earlier in the day, Richt also referenced that “emotions run high,” adding: “People do things they probably wish they didn’t do. I think that was what was being communicated. I don’t think he’s necessarily proud of it. We’re just going to learn from it and move on.”
Not the first thing this year the Dogs are trying to learn from.
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1,682 comments Add your comment
Shane
November 1st, 2010
3:23 pm
Attempts to reach Grantham since this morning have been unsuccessful.
No doubt. Someone please fire this juvenile jerkoff.
Duck a Fawg
November 1st, 2010
3:24 pm
@Big Bad Bwuce: I’m going with the Krispy Kreme theory
Al
November 1st, 2010
3:24 pm
I recorded the game and just looked at it. After ga calls the timeout to ice the kicker, they show richt and you can see trailer trash grantham behind mr grabbing his neck twice and yelling don’t f ing choke or something along those lines. you can certainly see the f bomb and choke come out of his mouth. uga is a pathetic classless program from top to bottom.
GT Dude
November 1st, 2010
3:24 pm
Dawgfan,
are those red panties that are in a wad?
you keep setting them up and we’ll keep knocking them down.
Big Bad Bwuce
November 1st, 2010
3:24 pm
That headset is rubbing off what is left of Coach Richt’s hair. I would not want to have seats behind him when the glare is coming off that bald head. This mascot work is not so hard. I get to sleep a lot during the game, a lot like the UGA fans.
Dawg Tell
November 1st, 2010
3:25 pm
Hell, at least he was doing something!Most other coaches were standing around looking like “here we go again”.
I Wonder....
November 1st, 2010
3:26 pm
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kevin
November 1st, 2010
3:26 pm
Not sure if that’s the choke sign or not, but it was Grantham’s defense that choked, e.g. Rambo’s dropped INT that could have very well been a pick 6 in the 4th or Sanders Cummings trying to pick a fumble up inside the 10 instead of simply falling on it.
Big Bad Bwuce
November 1st, 2010
3:26 pm
It’s embarrassing being a mascot for a team with trashy coaches and players. I may see if I can work out a trade with Miss. State . . . bulldog for bulldog. If not, maybe the Oregon duck will come here and I can go there. I just want out.
KimZ'spackage
November 1st, 2010
3:27 pm
Todd was just trying to Jerk..f his own face maybe?
kevin
November 1st, 2010
3:27 pm
GT Dude,
You can lay off Dawgfan b/c you GT is no good either. In fact, UGA will likely stomp the hell out of thhem in Athens this year.
Harvey
November 1st, 2010
3:27 pm
Just another reason to sack Richt and the Bozos around him.
SOGADOG
November 1st, 2010
3:27 pm
You are trying to make a big deal out of nothing.
mowreck
November 1st, 2010
3:28 pm
Well, I’m a Tech fan, and since the media wrote that article, he probably was just scratching his unshaven face.
Tim Teblows!
November 1st, 2010
3:29 pm
Really?? Who cares if he was or wasn’t doing that? Why does this even make the news? Our society today is full of a bunch wussies and girly men!!
bruce mac
November 1st, 2010
3:29 pm
Oh I am so scared, the mighty Gators (5 and 3 record) will be upset and put another 3 point whopping on our boys. Please please Irban, don’t be upset. Morons!!!!!!!!
dawgfan
November 1st, 2010
3:30 pm
Schultzie spinning facts to make UGA look bad? Say it ain’t so. I really don’t know what we’ve done to him in the past couple of years. Richt must have given him a wedgie and stuffed him in his locker or something. His columns are almost cartoonish, child-like if you will.
Kevin
November 1st, 2010
3:30 pm
Waaaaaaaa effing waaaaaaaaa! Get over it.
Jeff Schultz Fan
November 1st, 2010
3:30 pm
Jeff: I mostly like your blogs but this one is not really meaningful since there is no proof that it was really a choke sign. As someone else mentioned, two hands are used to indicate a choke sign.
doggit
November 1st, 2010
3:30 pm
Yawn Jeff on this one….just yawn
Big Bad Bwuce
November 1st, 2010
3:31 pm
If I was an investor I’d want some Krispy Kreme stock with Coach Grantham here and making all that money. He can pretty much buy as many doughnuts as he wants. Coach Richt is toast because he’s having to hire coaches that don’t “fit” just right with his program. Who’s to say Grantham wasn’t saying Richt choked? I bet he was signaling to the AD that there was some choking going on. He wants the job, doesn’t he?
Frank Lane
November 1st, 2010
3:31 pm
This just does not bother me.
Peyton Manning
November 1st, 2010
3:31 pm
Who cares if it was directed at an idiot kicker who was probably liquored up anyway?
Mikey
November 1st, 2010
3:32 pm
“As if Florida needed any more motivation in this series, right?” – Are you kidding me, Jeff? How could they use this picture as motivation? I could just see Meyer make this ridiculous excuse of a story into a pre-game speech… “Hey guys, this little Doggie wants to choke our kicker. We won’t let him do that this year, will we?”
KimZ'spackage
November 1st, 2010
3:32 pm
What the hell is going on with the blogs?
Now it goes back to the top of the page and the article after I post. What happen to it going right back to the las post?
How the hel is this going to work during the LIVE Game Blog?
It was great before then this weekend all the posts were on 1 page.
Who the F is screwing with the Blog posting pattern?
redhairpimplefacetechnerd
November 1st, 2010
3:32 pm
Schulzie is this really important,I think I just heard that Dabo Sweeney is endorsing Roy Barnes
Schultzie
November 1st, 2010
3:33 pm
I’ll do anything for page hits!!!!!
Jerry
November 1st, 2010
3:33 pm
“You are trying to make a big deal out of nothing.”
Nope. It’s just another sign of the lack of self discipline and ethical behavior in Athens.
There’s a reason why UGA is known far and wide as The Cesspool of the South.
Smitty
November 1st, 2010
3:33 pm
I have never been a fan of UGA, but I’ve always had respect for Mark Richt as a person. If Richt really is the man he’s perceived to be, then he must have completely lost control of that program. Maybe Richt is just a thin layer of gold on a big fat turd of a program.
Tim Tebow
November 1st, 2010
3:34 pm
I will pray for his soul and hope that Coach Meyer does not smote him!
Nathan
November 1st, 2010
3:34 pm
Too much being made out of nothing. Who cares if Todd Grantham did that? If anything the fire he shows on the field is appreciated by Bulldog fans and the “calm and cool” Richt demeanor has lost its flourish. Get to practice and chastise some people. Point fingers. Sick of hearing “I think we’ll be okay…” from the coaches.
Vince Lombardi
November 1st, 2010
3:35 pm
Typical UGA “ethics”. Why must the school and especially the athletic association always set the lowest bar?
KimZ'spackage
November 1st, 2010
3:35 pm
Spinning FACTS to make UGA look bad? SO The FACT is Todd G was making the Choke Sign, but Jeff is trying to make it seem bad? HAHAH. Nobody needs to spin anything to make UGA look bad. FULMER CUP WINNER says it all.
Rowdy Yates
November 1st, 2010
3:36 pm
Easy Kim, Be appreciative that AJC still allows you to post.
Joey
November 1st, 2010
3:36 pm
Come on, Jeff. Find out more info on Grantham’s signal before you speculate. If you’ve got some space to fill, why not comment on Urban’s guy, “Time to die, bitch” Rainey, who scored a TD in the game.
Summit Dawg
November 1st, 2010
3:36 pm
I agree withj Schmeckdawg, Why wasn’t the Gators flagged for excessive celebration during that overtime play?? Had it been one Dawg running down, UGA would surely have been flagged!!!! What bugs me the most though is what Richt said about the overtime int. “We were trying to score 7 as we didn’t believe 3 would win the game!!!” Let’s see coach, Did Fla. win with 3 more?? Plus ever since he’s been at UGA, everytime we get in the red zone, he plays it between the hash marks so
he CAN kick a field goal…..If BOOBOO called that play, he should be gone!!!!!!!!
Innocent Bystander
November 1st, 2010
3:36 pm
More embarrassing was the play @ the 7:30 mark in the 4th quarter. Brantley dumped a pass to #82, who did a spin move around one tackle and was then being grabbed by the jersey when Georgia’s #36 came up to him and gave him an elbow near the chin to knock the receiver’s helmet off.
I understand that this stuff happens in football at the bottom of the pile, but to be stupid enough to do something so blatant to the ballcarrier (i.e. the guy the camera is focused on) is really just pitiful.
Matty Nice
November 1st, 2010
3:37 pm
“They allowed 31 points to a Gators team had scored only one touchdown in a 10-7 loss to Mississippi State.” – What is the point of adding these in? They had an extra week to make changes. And does it really matter what another team held UF to? I got one: Georgia held South Carolina to 17, which scored 35 on Alabama’s defense, which held UF to 6 points.
techie redneckie
November 1st, 2010
3:37 pm
Did anyone check to see if Granthma had red panties stuck in his throat?
Can we please focus on how Tech is going to put a beat down on VT, Miami and GA?
Summit Dawg
November 1st, 2010
3:38 pm
PS: I am so embarrassed over the last two seasons!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
RxDawg
November 1st, 2010
3:39 pm
Um….ok. Is this over the line? I guess it really doesn’t take much in this sissy nanny state of America we live in today. Honestly I can live with a subliminal choking sign. I mean, if “time to die b%&*” guy can play and eye gouging is ok I guess a symbol of choking to a game winning FG kicker is ok.
joey
November 1st, 2010
3:39 pm
I mean you couldnt find anything else to complain about?
Eisendawg
November 1st, 2010
3:39 pm
Coach G was simply trying to get someone to give UGA VIII the hindlickem manuever.
Joey
November 1st, 2010
3:39 pm
Jerry, show me something, other than what a nerd wrote, that calls UGA a cesspool. You are a fool.
SickandTired
November 1st, 2010
3:39 pm
This is a classless example of a coach stepping over the line. I thought he was an emotional coach, but I had no idea he was a jerk of a coach. Wow, it just never ends down there in Athens. Please Mark, do the right thing for the dawg nation and resign. Your pathetic tenure is over. Bring dignity back to UGA football.
rackem rak bar
November 1st, 2010
3:41 pm
No one makes a big deal of urban meyer playing pocket pool????????
KimZ'spackage
November 1st, 2010
3:41 pm
Nice call INNOCENT
Dent’s Forearm Shiver to the head knocking the Gator Receivers helmet off. No Personal Foul was a HUGE no call.
The Excesive Celebration was not called because It was a TD and the game would have been over. The Gators celeberated a GAME WINNING PLAY. The review made the right call and the REFS couldn’t then throw a flag.
Dorsey Hill
November 1st, 2010
3:42 pm
I saw Meyer scratch himself. Clearly his intent was to tell the UGA cheerleaders to “suck it.” The reason I know that is because I read minds. No place in college football for coaches telling cheerleaders to “suck it.” Fortunately I’m too skilled at the mind reading to get a low-paying job at the AJC spouting off unsupported speculation.
I look forward to tomorrow’s column where Schutz tell us what the strange pattern in his toast portends for UGA.
JK
November 1st, 2010
3:42 pm
techie redneckie
i am lol at your post
techfan
November 1st, 2010
3:43 pm
I am the biggest GA hater there is,..and you are desperately reaching to make a story..give me a break