SEC punishes players, but why no reprimand for coaches?
Vanderbilt coach James Franklin stated his case to Mark Richt after the game.
(Updated with SEC statement on coaches.)
Georgia’s attempt to achieve a rare exacta — 1) beat Florida; 2) win the SEC East — just got a little more difficult.
The SEC, in an expected move, has suspended two Bulldogs defensive starters — safety Shawn Williams and nose tackle Kwame Geathers — for their actions in last week’s victory over Vanderbilt. Each must sit out the first half of the Florida game. Also suspended for a half was Vandy center Logan Stewart.
Meanwhile, the conference chose not to act on the actions of Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham or Vandy head coach James Franklin. That’s odd. It sends mixed messages.
This is not to suggest either Grantham or Franklin should have suspended, and a conference spokesman wasn’t even aware if there is precedent for a coach being fined for an on-field action. But the minimum of a public reprimand certainly seemed in order.
I sent an email to SEC associate commissioner Charles Bloom asking why there was no publish discipline of any kind for Grantham and Franklin. This was his emailed response: “Matter handled internally between league office and schools.”
Coaches should be held to at least as high a standard as players. Actually, higher. They are the adults in this scenario, at least theoretically.
As for the impact of the suspensions: The Dogs’ defense has improved this season — notwithstanding a poor second half against Vanderbilt — so the loss of Williams and Geathers, even just for a half, hurts. Williams has been one of the defense’s best players, but was flagged for a flagrant personal foul in the third quarter. Geathers drew two personal fouls, one stemming from a punch at Stewart, who clipped him from behind.
Williams reportedly also was one of the initial sparks to the post-game scrum involving the two teams. Various videos from news sites have popped up, the most recent indicating that Williams was popping off after the game to Franklin, who then returned verbal fire, which brought Grantham into it. Then things exploded.
WSMV television in Nashville released raw video footage on Tuesday that showed a post-game conversation between Franklin and Georgia coach Mark Richt, who apologizes to the Vandy coach for the actions of Williams and Grantham (while also calling each a name).
Suffice to say, Richt did not intend for those comments to become public, even if he probably was right.
Here’s the transcript from the news video:
Franklin: “36 comes up, after a tough game, talking **** to me!
Richt: “Okay.”
Franklin: “Rubbing our face in it right after the game!”
Richt: “He’s a dumb***.”
Franklin: “And then your coach when I tell him about it, then he goes after me and the fight starts.”
Richt: “That’s what I thought happened, I apologize. It’s horse **** horse ****.”
Then coach Franklin finds another coach to express his feelings to.
Franklin: ” Hey, 36 after a tough game, come over and going to talk **** in my face after the game. That’s NOT how my guys do it!”
This is two strikes for Grantham, including last year’s episode when he gave multiple choke signs to a Florida place kicker. But there has been no official statement from the school, and athletic director Greg McGarity has only referred to Richt’s post-game comments, in which the coach expressed regret for the way his team acted after the win.
On the field, the Dogs definitely will take a hit in the first half against Florida next week. But they take a hit off the field as well.
By Jeff Schultz
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724 comments Add your comment
JB
October 19th, 2011
6:50 pm
How determined will be Muschamp to beat the Dawgs? It will save thus a horrible opening Act for his era at Florida. We better bring a lunch pail………..and a cooler.
JB
October 19th, 2011
6:52 pm
Journalism? Ha. They throw out red meat………..Read any scoops on here lately? In the Age of the internet, all they do is react to 3 day old news.
GR82BAG8R
October 19th, 2011
6:54 pm
Actually, 1eyedJack, Miami alumni are quite proud of their school as well as their football team.
1eyedJack
October 19th, 2011
6:56 pm
I beleive Muschamp has already gauranteed a victory over the Dawgs. I hope they have that posted all over Butts Mehre.
1eyedJack
October 19th, 2011
6:57 pm
GR82BAG8R, I was talking about Miami’s football team.
NOT SO WELL DONE
October 19th, 2011
6:57 pm
UGA is #386.
Tallahasseedawg
October 19th, 2011
6:58 pm
I really hope CMR did not call his on player a Dumb!@#.If he did he is more of a chump than i thought he was,as a coach how can you look in your players face and say i got your back.CMR youbetta wake your dumb!@# up before you lose your team,Way to back your player Richt WOW!
10/19/2011 Evening Edition | collegefootballnewswire.com
October 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
[...] QB For 2012 Class? Mississippi State’s New Egg Bowl Unis Are As Exciting As The Rivalry Itself SEC Punishes Players, But Why No Reprimand For Coaches? A Closer Look At Tennessee’s Year Two Improvement Plenty To Do For Nebraska Fans Heading to [...]
Al Ciraldo
October 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
Hey Jeff…..Move on. Everybody else has. We’re sure that you’ll find some other scab at UGA to pick at soon enough so just settle down a bit and have a drink or something. All criticism all the time is getting pretty boring and I think folks are beginning to catch on that there is precious little journalism going on at your cubicle. Why not the high school beat for awhile?
JB
October 19th, 2011
7:02 pm
What part of the team not lost…………is now lost….that little remark by Richt will make the rounds in the locker room. Not a good move, and I’m sure McGarity is not pleased either.
JB
October 19th, 2011
7:04 pm
Well, my bad for Schultz. He is purely an opinion guy and not a reporter.
Danny G
October 19th, 2011
7:05 pm
Told you to leave this alone on Monday Jeff. Now, even you are mad. Something else has to happen soon to get you interested in something else besides rubbing the Ga fans the wrong way.
JB
October 19th, 2011
7:06 pm
Maybe Johnson will spill hot grease all over the locker room?
Don't trust the "transcript"
October 19th, 2011
7:07 pm
Gents, don’t trust the “transcript” Schultz posted. Watch the video before saying what a whimp Richt was. I watched the video. Yes, Richt didn’t stick up for his players and he SHOULD HAVE (1eyedjack has it right with what Richt should have said). But he didn’t call Williams a name and he didn’t say anything close to what Shultz reported. I’m an attorney who has handled a number of defamation cases and I’m dead serious about this–Richt should sue for libel. And, by the way, contrary to what an earlier commenter said, republication of a libelous statement is no defense. Every reporter (including pseudo-reporters like Schultz) are expected to do their own homework BEFORE republication or face the consequences.
Dawg '85
October 19th, 2011
7:08 pm
Terry
October 19th, 2011
6:26 pm
Jeff Schultz, Jerry Hinnen of cbssports.com said, we don’t blame the SEC for suspending either Geathers or Stewart; while Geathers is fully justified in being angry (and even in reacting angrily in some fashion) a thrown punch is by this point universally recognized as just cause for a suspension. But it would have been nice if the SEC sent a message about Stewart’s play by handing him a greater punishment than Geathers’–say, a full game to Geather’s half. If we’re comparing the two offenses, there’s no question in this blogger’s mind, which one is more likely to result in an injury, which is more premeditated and less emotional, or which falls further outside the bounds of acceptable conduct on the football field. Geathers’ punch probably hurt, but Stewart’s clip might have ended Geathers’ career, and came far too late to have anything to do with the play.
Do you agree or disagree with this Bloggers assessment?
Great post Terry! Shultz is no journalist… that’s why he’s going down with the ship at AJC. He simply posts reactionary (sp?) rehashes that keep the pot stirred. Hinnen’s take considers both sides of the story… something the AJC idiots never do. The funny thing is… their sensationalism can’t really even be creating revenue. I wouldn’t pay for the AJC print edition to clean an oil spot in my garage… and the online banner ads are totally irrevelant as the (mostly illiterate posters who get hyped up by the AJC’s stupid tactics) readers quickly skim down the page.
Yes, I occasionally read and post here out of boredom… although any real college football fan knows there are better blogs with insightful info and intelligent conversations.
The best analogy for reading either JS or MB postings is like when I’m really hungry… an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet sounds really good… but a couple of hours later I want to throw up… or take a S-H-U-L-T-Z!!!!
JB
October 19th, 2011
7:09 pm
Tech #84…Yes………………Number 12 in the Coach’s football poll……….impostors we all knew they were.
JB in Blakely
October 19th, 2011
7:11 pm
I have been supporting coach Richt through all this stuff. He just called one of his own players a dumb***. I know Shawn. Coached him in youth football. He is not a dumb***. As a dawg fan I would rather have a Granthem who stands up for his player in public and handles problems internally than someone like Richt who mia culpa’s on the spot to save face with an opposing coach.
DDAWG
October 19th, 2011
7:13 pm
Thank you coach Grantham. I mean that!! Keep up the good work. Go beat some gator butt. The Vandy kid should have been kicked out Sat. night for what he did.
JB
October 19th, 2011
7:14 pm
JB in Blakely….Let’s make sure he said that before we convict him. A post above here by a Lawyer has posted that it didn’t happen. I think Richt needs to clear that up if he didn’t say it.
GR82BAG8R
October 19th, 2011
7:17 pm
JB, and “lawyer” – - I just listened to the transcript several times, and the transcript is accurate.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 19th, 2011
7:17 pm
Vandy coach Franklin
Showed he coaches kids to take cheap shots; by the way where is the video of the kickoff where we were flagged when Vandy players were pushing our players around after the whistle blew
Where is Franklins apology for his players trying to end someone’s career
What a joke
GR82BAG8R
October 19th, 2011
7:19 pm
oops…I just listened to the clip several times…
bystander
October 19th, 2011
7:19 pm
the only thing evident is what coach franklin said, for schultz to publish the transcript as if it’s the exact dialogue without confirming it with sources including those who actually spoke (richt, franklin) is a lazy move befitting a lazy columnist…
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 19th, 2011
7:19 pm
Too bad we dont have a coach that has the guts to run the score up next year
oh no
we will hold hands and sing the Vandy fight song for them after the game
GR82BAG8R
October 19th, 2011
7:20 pm
For equity, Stewart should have received a full game suspension.
1962 DAWG
October 19th, 2011
7:28 pm
Schultz here are a couple of conclusions for all the hard work you’ve put in on this story.
Coach Franklin is a whiner.
Coach Grantham is not!
Coach Richt not sticking up for his assistant coach and his players should really send our players and position coaches a good message going into the preperations for the game against UF next week.
Shultz. Why not come up with somethging origional for questioning for Coach Mark Richt?
Here are a few.
1. How did UGA end up 4th and 18 after an interception by Bacarri Rambo. 3 plays and all 3 were give up plays that resulted in 4th and 18.
2. When will UGA employ a special teams coach? After giving up another fake punt and after getting a punt blocked.
Need any more ideas Schultz let me know.
But this exchange between Franklin and Grantham is pretty simple. You don’t chastize another mans kids. Grantham was simply taking up for his own.
You don’t get on to my kids at the grocery store for raising hell, i’ll handle it.
1eyedJack
October 19th, 2011
7:29 pm
Whatever happened to making a guy run around the practice field until his tongue hangs out?
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 19th, 2011
7:32 pm
Richt aint sticking up for his D coordinator
That sounds familiar
Oh yea I remember now. He didnt stick up for Van Gorder either
He sticks up for Bobo and Martinez though
JB in Blakely
October 19th, 2011
7:33 pm
I listened to it 3 times. He said it. Kinda breaks my heart a little. Shawn makes good grades, never gets in trouble off the field, and has kind of quarterbacked the defense this year. I don’t agree with what he did after the game, but I would think by now he would have earned his head coach’s respect.
Not saying he does not deserve some punishment. But do it privately, don’t throw your player under the bus.
1eyedJack
October 19th, 2011
7:33 pm
Hopefully Coach Richt will have a prayer meeting with 36 and ’splain to him why he had to call him a dumb***. I’m sure he’ll understand.
Joey
October 19th, 2011
7:34 pm
I am done with Richt.
1eyedJack
October 19th, 2011
7:38 pm
Dr. Spock said to reason with your kids. Spanking them would hurt their self-esteem.
We should have spanked ‘em.
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 19th, 2011
7:46 pm
1eyedJack
Send Dr. Spock a thank you note.
Tell him thank you for raising our kids to disrespect parents and act like hoodlums in the name of self-esteem
Dr. Spock must be a Tech fan
1eyedJack
October 19th, 2011
7:47 pm
Didn’t they claim him already?
Columbus
October 19th, 2011
7:49 pm
2 strikes? LOL. They dont add up to one strike between the both of em’! You girlie-man! You act like they went went bezerk or something. Hands around the throat one year and then a heated argument? Wow that is serious stuff!
Dawgs beat Vandy and WILL beat Florida in a week and a half. Thats all that matters. This other stuff is minimal and done with and just a distraction that I do not expect to see in the press again! Oh I forgot, Bradley has to write an entire column on it too so I guess that will be tomorrow so it can be spread out over the entire week.
Dawgs will beat Florida and then beat the sorry AU defense to a pulp and go to the SEC title game, much to the dismay of Schultz and Bradley and most of AJC!
UGA in the SEC Championship….Suck on that Richt haters! Suck on that UGA haters!
Go Dawgs!
I have a question?
October 19th, 2011
7:54 pm
What if #36 really is a dumb***?
Is that possible?
AJC Agenda
October 19th, 2011
7:58 pm
Jeff,
I hope Mark Richt sues you for libel if what you have reported is not accurate. You are a first rate jerk regardless who seems obsessed with smoking pot. If it is accurate, Richt needs to evaluate his loyalties. If I was Sean Williams and Richt called me a DA after the great game I just played, I would not play hard for the man in the future.
beachdog
October 19th, 2011
7:58 pm
Jeff Schultz
Did you insist Nick Fairly be suspended for the Iron Bowl?
If not, did you mention it once in the four days after the GA/AU game?
Please advise
Your friend,
beachdog
Columbus
October 19th, 2011
8:00 pm
They have no balls at AJC. Vandy paper defends their teams actions and AJC crucifies UGA…..typical AJC when it comes to UGA. Its a conspiracy or directive from some higher up for sure. Lobbyist from Tech or something….!
You know AJC you dont have to look for the negative and focus on it in your stories and headlines. We are UGA fans and we will read news about UGA but all this negativity is turning us off and many of us are starting to not even read some articles in protest of this negativity right in the headlines. We respect Chip Towers because he is fair when negative things are news and must be reported and commented on. He does a good job. The others just go on the offensive and it is negative and not fair nor enjoyable reading. What are you doing trying to get Tech fans to read UGA articles and they are more apt to if there is some UGA bashing involved? Selling your souls and intergrity for the almighty dollar. Why not, everybody that is in a position tois doing it? i.e. banks, politicians, corporations, financial analysts, CEO’s, news stations, newspapers, AJC.
Columbus
October 19th, 2011
8:02 pm
AJC mission statement in the Sports section: Stick it to UGA whenever and however possible and try to ruin the football program to the most possible extent!
KJ
October 19th, 2011
8:04 pm
Columbus, it’s not really the AJC as a whole, it’s hacks like Schultz, who continually write incendiary anti-UGA garbage to stir the pot, and let pathetic life failures like 5150 troll to their hearts’ content. I had forgotten why I stopped clicking on his “articles”, thanks for the reminder.
dawgone
October 19th, 2011
8:05 pm
Lets see how many more players are suspended the rest of this season by the SEC for personal fouls. I will bet you there will not be any. By the way Jeff, where are you to defend your comments? Do you think Muschump deserves to be reprimanded?
Beast from the East
October 19th, 2011
8:13 pm
“AJC mission statement in the Sports section: Stick it to UGA whenever and however possible and try to ruin the football program to the most possible extent!”
Major inferiority complex!
GR82BAG8R
October 19th, 2011
8:16 pm
Florida holds on to win a hard fought game this year (again). Afterwards, Josh Evans starts talking **** to coach Richt on the field. Richt tries to get to the kid and is spotted by Dan Quinn, who immediately starts spewing expletives at Richt. All the UGA fans start saying how much they admire Quinn for standing up for his players – - NOT!!!!!!!!
JB in Blakely
October 19th, 2011
8:18 pm
Coach Richt has built his rep on being a “players coach”. It has helped him become a great recruiter. How many prospects are going to want to play for a coach who will throw a player under the bus to save face?
He owes Shawn an apology. Also, Shawn needs to control his emotions and not let this happen again. I am not defending his actions. He was wrong. But coach has got to defend his players and owes Franklin no apology.
Franklin should be the one saying sorry for his players cheap shots during the game.
Oh, and you folks jumping on Jeff, give it a break. He is just reporting the news and is entitled to his opinion about it,
i would like to see him ask for an interview with Shawn and Kwame. Get their opinions on how this was handled. That is s story worth reading right there!
Beast from the East
October 19th, 2011
8:19 pm
GR82BAG8R,
To be fair, we have just as many “homers” that would react the same way. UGA hasn’t cornered the market on blind homerism. It’s rampant all across the country.
chazzo
October 19th, 2011
8:19 pm
a) Did you see the hit on Geathers? He obviously went for the side of Geathers’ knee while Geathers was running away from him and the play over. I am all for sportsmanship and self-control, but in this case, I think the punch was warranted. That could have ended his career.
b) I fully accept that regardless of what Franklin said, Grantham overreacted and let Franklin get the best of him because of it. That being said, however, we don’t know what Franklin said to Grantham. It is pretty clear to me that Franklin is milking it for all its worth. (it is worth? its worth? both make sense). I think Franklin did the verbal equivalent of throwing a sucker punch and then played all innocent. He is a squirrelly guy and an immature whiney jerk.
c) As far as Alabama and LSU teams not participating in such activities (as I read from a couple of different posters)…. HA. Are you kidding me? Anyone who doesn’t believe that this kind of psychological game playing and taunting isn’t a part of sports at every level should read about the renowned Jordan led Chicago bulls teams or watch the documentary of the Bird/Magic rivalry. Or read a book about sports. Every time a player on a team opposing Bama does something good against Bama, that player is marked. Anyone see that Bama player take out the punt returner on a fair catch before the ball was even close?
ClinchPanther
October 19th, 2011
8:20 pm
JEFF why do you think you are right and the rest of the world is wrong? You just need something to stir up the Georgia fans and you keep running your pitiful little feelings out for everyone to see. it is really getting sad listening to the same old crap from you week after week. If you don’t know how to write anything of value just find another job. Really sad Jeff. I mean it, it is sad.
GR82BAG8R
October 19th, 2011
8:22 pm
Beast, I agree – - but to belittle Schultz for reporting the topic and asking the right question is over the top. Don’t shoot the messenger.
Hit A Single
October 19th, 2011
8:28 pm
Way too much coverage of this event. Must be boring in the sports world. If you want to cover something go to Hancock Central and you will get a story.