UGA fans should curb their enthusiasm over Rogers’ arrest
That rumble you heard earlier today was the sound of laughter rolling across the great state of Georgia. Da’Rick Rogers, the receiver from Calhoun who famously spurned the Bulldogs to sign with Vince Dooley’s son at Tennessee, was arrested in Knoxville at 1:50 a.m. for disorderly conduct after what we old folks used to call a barroom brawl.
(If you haven’t read esteemed colleague Chip Towers’ explanation of the matter, please do. The Chipster is to college recruiting as Target is to shopping — comprehensive and classy.)
It’s human nature to delight in the misfortune of a rival, especially a rival that snatched a recruit who’d committed to you eight months before Signing Day. But we must also note, for the sake of fairness, that the Georgia program isn’t immune to arrests — not of teenage athletes, not even of a 40-year-old athletics director.
I was talking to a Georgia Tech man last weekend, and he was trying — and mostly succeeding, I should report — not to chuckle over Damon Evans’ plight. Because we old folks can tell you young ‘uns that the fan base that laughs today is invariably the next to be embarrassed. (It’s uncanny how that works, but work it does.)
No school holds the patent on good behavior. No school can ever be inoculated against the misjudgments of young athletes, or even 40-year-old ADs. I understand why Georgia fans find Rogers’ arrest amusing, but I’ve also been around long enough to caution against irrational exuberance.
There’s always another arrest waiting to happen in a college town, and that town could well be yours. Bradley’s Rule: Tempt not the football gods by busting a gut laughing, lest tomorrow ye weep bitter tears.
Update: Tennessee coach Derek Dooley announced Friday night he has kicked safety Darren Myles Jr., who’s from Atlanta’s Carver High, off the team and indefinitely suspended Marlon Walls and Greg King for their part in the incident. Da’Rick Rogers has not been suspended.
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409 comments Add your comment
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:12 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:11 pm
What bridges are under water?
76-Dawg
July 9th, 2010
6:13 pm
Bradley , sometime your dumb comments against UGA shows how biased you really are. When we checked AJC blogs this morning half your columnist had started a blog wanting us to comment on DaRick and his fellow team mates assaulting patrons at one of their local bars.So we did. And to set the record straight I would be willing to bet DaRick chose Tennessee over UGA because he was very close to not qualifying academically at UGA and knew academics would not be an issue at Tennessee.
AltamahaDawg
July 9th, 2010
6:13 pm
In all fairness Bradley did deliver the same message to all the rivals piling onto us last week. He did right?
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:14 pm
@ The cynical white punk
Are you the same dude who said Obama’s tax on tanning bed’s was his way of punishing white people for slavery?
If not you two should probably meet for drinks and start the local “Tea bag me” chapter.
Bob Horner
July 9th, 2010
6:14 pm
Things that make you go hmmmm…. stop it…you made me laugh so hard I spit out some beer….good stuff….
CynthiaP
July 9th, 2010
6:14 pm
UGA fans can’t point fingers at anyone. The forty arrests of football and basketball players in the past three years, plus at least two DUI arrests of officials in the athletic department, are beyond outrageous. Clearly the coaches cannot control their players, especially Mark Richt. At most schools, heads would roll with those kind of numbers, but it doesn’t seem to bother anyone at UGA.
And that’s really scary. In any case, UGA fans are the last ones in the world who can point fingers at others.
Polka Guy
July 9th, 2010
6:14 pm
If you kick a wall too hard, you’ll break your own leg.
braves choke again
July 9th, 2010
6:15 pm
First!?
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:15 pm
@ hmmm
some are over land.
You did graduate right?
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:16 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:15 pm
Yes, from Tuskegee.
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:17 pm
@ Bob
You never ever ever waste beer. Control yourself.
GatorGirl
July 9th, 2010
6:18 pm
UGA gloating over another team’s arrest record?
Give me a break. And some red panties, please.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:18 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:17 pm
I may not waste beer, but I have been wasted on beer.
AltamahaDawg
July 9th, 2010
6:18 pm
ONCE AGAIN, the headline writer misrepresents the article. This reads more like a “serves you right” to the rivals that were piling onto us last week than it does an actualy warning to dawg fans.
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:20 pm
Dude I’m begging you please change the name. Every time i read it that D@MN song plays in my head.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:20 pm
GatorGirl
July 9th, 2010
6:18 pm
I would make a quick comeback but your boyfriend is either the UF football player who shot an AK-47 in public, or the player who started charging things on his dead girlfriend’s credit card. Better hold on to your wallet.
dawg1
July 9th, 2010
6:20 pm
Great column Mark, the news all day is about what the UT players did last night and you somehow make it about UGA. We know you love the dawgs but you really showed us this time. Next time maybe you can report on the incident that happened instead of telling the UGA fans to keep their mouth shut. You sir are an idiot!!
Link Appleyard
July 9th, 2010
6:21 pm
I hear that the New Black Panthers have some openings Da’Rick….just sayin’.
Big Dog
July 9th, 2010
6:22 pm
Wow. So a UT athlete screws up and Mark Bradley writes another blog with a UGA negative spin. lol
BTW: When a gt football player beats up his best gal the AJC writes a story but doesn’t allow comments to be posted.
Fairness and journalism at its finest. Now for a big horse laugh. LOL
Bob Horner
July 9th, 2010
6:22 pm
GatorGirl…Damon is a “wannabe player”…a knucklehead…Da’rick is thug…he’s the real deal…..JMO….when you screw over the dawgs it comes back to haunt you….
Russ the Mascot
July 9th, 2010
6:23 pm
I’m laughing my black-spotted @zz off!!
UGA Fan
July 9th, 2010
6:23 pm
I just dont see any problem with arrests. I have been able to obtain the autographs of some of my favorite UGA players here in prison. Go Dawgs!
Tweets that mention UGA fans should curb their enthusiasm over Rogers' arrest | Mark Bradley -- Topsy.com
July 9th, 2010
6:23 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ann Marie Carron. Ann Marie Carron said: UGA fans should curb their enthusiasm over Rogers' arrest: Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog)(Photo by Amy Smothe… http://bit.ly/cfvut3 [...]
Ted Striker
July 9th, 2010
6:23 pm
You know it’s a bad day when one guy is covering his face in the front passenger seat and another guy is laying down and covering his face in the back seat.
Maybe Larry the Cable Guy should have replace the orange UT “T” with a University of Florida “UF” just to throw people off when picking up his bail bond meal tickets.
(Then again, that’s only convincing if someone in the photo is wearing jorts).
savannadawg
July 9th, 2010
6:24 pm
Who cares what color the guys were. All this can be solved with a strait hand set of rules that the SEC puts forth., not the schools. All criminal activity needs to go through Slives office period. If they are found guilty they should no longer have the priveledge to play in the SEC. If they are found innocent, and are in good standings with the academic side of the house then all should be forgiven but with a warning. If they are academically behind the eightball they should have been in the library not the bar. Punishment should come from the academic side of the house which the athletic dept. would have too abide by.
SWGADAWG
July 9th, 2010
6:24 pm
All colleges have troublrs with arrests….all fans pile on the other teams. But Bradkey says…UGA fans can’t return fie…hmmmm
brokebackvol
July 9th, 2010
6:25 pm
Let’s not forget that a cop was injured this time, folks. Same issue as the UGA AD getting caught and pretty much ruining his life when it was going so well. You can laugh, but I hope you can get a little humility from it all somehow, and give a little thanks to the man upstairs that it wasn’t you or one of your sons or male relative. I’m angry at them all for doing it to themselves. Why on earth are they risking promising futures? Where is this new “Coach for Life” Andre Lott in all of this?
CoastDog
July 9th, 2010
6:26 pm
You have to remember that the comments you get on blogs do not represent all UGa fans. Those who haunt the blogs are the fanatics-yes, I know).
Stu
July 9th, 2010
6:27 pm
Mark-
You’re exactly right. Didn’t Newton get it right in his 3rd law about opposing forces? Actions create reactions, no doubt about it. Have to be mindful of actions we choose, recognizing the law of ‘action-reaction’.
Bob Horner
July 9th, 2010
6:27 pm
Mark…you were comparing apples and oranges…..have you realized that yet by the blog comments..?? just curious…
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:28 pm
No but I have head of rapes by both blacks and whites. Against blacks and whites.
So you couldn’t find any one white to have your back.
Oh i get it. They only have your back when you are online. That keyboard bravado at it again!!!!
Link Appleyard
July 9th, 2010
6:28 pm
Good arguement for allowing concealed carry law. Pop a cap in a few bootay’s.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:30 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:28 pm
Pot……kettle.
Kettle…..pot.
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:30 pm
Ever hear of a black man killing and eating people? No.
What’s your point? I can do this all day.
Well at least for 30 more minutes till i get off.
benadawg
July 9th, 2010
6:31 pm
Don’t laugh…….to hell with that…..Da’Rick…….i LOVE IT…….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA……
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:32 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:30 pm
I’m certain you could do this all day. In fact, you probably do it on many days. Your employer must be proud of the contribution you make to the bottom line.
59bulldawg
July 9th, 2010
6:32 pm
Where was this lecture when others made fun of UGA’s misfortune? I think Georgia folks understand your point better than you think. It’s just that given the way Da’ Rick the Convict jilted the Dawgs, poking fun at the guy is just too irresistable. Sure the kid was free to sign with anyone of his choosing, but the classless way in which he conducted his recruiting switch reinforces the notion of what goes around comes around. The real problem here is that too many college towns, and this is especially true in Athens, make underage drinking too easy. I don’t know for sure whether alcohol was involved in this incident but perhaps it’s time to make even underage entry into a bar illegal. Personally I don’t understand why any athlete, underage or not, needs to be in a bar. Call me idealistic but shouldn’t they be trying to maintain their bodies at peak physical condition? Another angle here might be to also weigh the student athlete’s character more heavily. Too many times college coaches, and again this is especially true at Georgia, take too many chances with athletes because of their athletic skill and the feeling that they can rescue a kid from himself. I’m not saying that transformations aren’t possible but most of the time a punk is a punk and will remain a punk. And if the evidence shows that Da’Rick was involved in the assault on the off-duty cop, he’s going to be a punk with a lot of legal problems. Unfortunately he wouldn’t be the first promising athlete too full of himself to wind up in jail. It may be a tough pill to swallow but he’s the one who ordered the medicine. And to many of us in the Dawg Nation, it’s more than a little amusing.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:33 pm
By the way, did Mark Bradley have anything positive to say about UGA when DaRick signed with UT?
ScoutDawg
July 9th, 2010
6:34 pm
Yeah Buddy, I know he is a wide reciever, the post I was responding to from Dogoneit was talking about AD’s and star recruits. I was not referring to anyone specifically, just making a point, but thanks for being the A$$ police. Sorry Officer A$$. You do work for the UGA PD right?
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:35 pm
The problems is that most of you get your limited knowledge about black people and black culture from what you see on the news.
Or in the case of you that truly do have real black friends, you see them as an exception to rule.
Braves you may need to get yourself a better pool of friends to hang out with.
bob
July 9th, 2010
6:35 pm
This a black eye to all the SEC, if you cheer when a SEC wins the BCS then…
This will be Coach Dooley’s statement to all present & future Vols. Many under age players in a bar, it was Mills 2nd arrest this summer, and a police officer was left kicked unconscious in the street. Zack Mettenberger looks like saint today.
jay
July 9th, 2010
6:36 pm
2 TRAITOR GEORGIA BOYS:
Both these guys should have stayed in their home state of GEORGIA and played for the DAWGS!!!!
now they’re both going to be playing division1AA football LOL…..
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:37 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:35 pm
And I’m sure you’re an expert on “white people”, right?
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:38 pm
Actually hmmmm, I am just overseeing a network cutover monitoring a conferernce call, So as long as no one screams bloody murder and the cutover is clean the boss is very happy with me.
The Cynical White Boy
July 9th, 2010
6:38 pm
Rumor has it that Duh-Rick’s legal defense will be temporary insanity…he was still highly upset that he was not invited to Mike Vick’s “Beat-Down” Birthday Party, nor to Damon Evan’s “Night Out With White Trash” party.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:39 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:38 pm
Riiiiiiiiight. Say, isn’t your “15 minutes of shame” about up?
Charles
July 9th, 2010
6:39 pm
I’ve been hearing this from various Atlanta media outlets all day, and while I do agree, where was this talk last week when UGA was being smeared? Just a very, very predictable article.
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:40 pm
I live in a white world. So yea. I am pretty sure I know more about white people than you know about blacks.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 9th, 2010
6:40 pm
Now it all makes sense…
July 9th, 2010
6:38 pm
Isn’t “overseeing a network cutover monitoring a conferernce call” the new politically correct term for switchboard operator?
Now it all makes sense...
July 9th, 2010
6:41 pm
call it what you want but it pays the bills