Blame Mark Richt? He’s not the one who’s embarrassing UGA
Even tougher love goes only so far. (Special to the AJC)
Mark Richt is a nice guy. Mark Richt believes in forgiveness. Mark Richt looks for the best in people. Mark Richt coddled Odell Thurman.
All of this is true. None of it explains, at least not fully, why Georgia players keep getting arrested.
Let’s stipulate that Richt was too lenient for too long. But he has toughened since the egregious offseason of 2008, when eight Bulldogs got arrested and stole a goodly part of the luster that should have descended on a team ranked No. 1 in preseason for the first time in school history. He has kicked more guys off the team. He has instituted an automatic one-game suspension for anyone arrested (for the first time) on an alcohol-related charge. Yet here Georgia sits, two summers later, having cut its offseason arrest total by …
One.
Seven Bulldogs have been arrested this calendar year. Three have been dismissed from the squad, including Montez Robinson, who figured to play at linebacker, and Zach Mettenberger, who might have challenged Aaron Murray as Georgia’s starting quarterback. Backup tailback Dontavius Jackson, arrested Saturday on DUI and five other charges, has been suspended for half the 2010 season.
This is no longer the Richt of repeated second chances, but it hasn’t much mattered. Bulldogs are still messing up — even as we note that an arrest isn’t a conviction, we must also face the reality that getting arrested generally isn’t a signal of meritorious behavior — even though they should know their actions can and will have consequences.
No, Georgia isn’t alone in having football players make the wrong kind of headlines. But it has happened so often with these Bulldogs that each incident bears a subtext: It isn’t that a Georgia player has been arrested but that another Georgia player has been arrested. And Richt, as head coach, must bear some responsibility. But responsibility isn’t the same thing as blame.
This man is a football coach, not a prison warden. In the name of discipline, he cannot put his men under dormitory lockdown. If he did, it wouldn’t be discipline. Discipline is about having the freedom to make choices and then choosing wisely. Too many Georgia players continue to be, for want of a better word, unwise. And that’s not on the head coach. That’s on them.
Maybe Richt needs to be more careful about the players he pursues — recruiting risks tend to bite the hand that signs them — but that can be said of every program everywhere. Richt is in business to win games, not to oversee the glee club. He’s going to be in a lot more trouble if Georgia goes 8-5 again than if another 19-year-old gets caught with a beer. But the 19-year-olds have to smarten up.
Loading ...If they can’t grasp that there’s increased scrutiny on this program — especially after the arrest and resignation of Damon Evans — they’re not bright enough to attend an institution of higher learning. If they can’t understand that being a Bulldog is both an honor and a responsibility, they shouldn’t be allowed to wear the red jersey.
Too many college athletes (and not just Georgia athletes) have been so pampered they believe they’re untouchable. Reality check: They’re not. Just because a bunch of folks followed their recruiting and got excited when these blue-chippers put on a certain school’s cap doesn’t mean a player can’t be arrested, can’t be disciplined, can’t be forgotten in the time it takes to say, “You’re off the team.”
Say what you will about Mark Richt, but for more than a decade he has carried himself in a way that has conferred honor on UGA. He is, alas, only one man. He cannot make choices for 85 others. He can try to lead them, teach them, punish them when necessary, but in the end everything comes down to free will.
Too many Bulldogs act as if they’ve been handed a free pass through life. (Reality check: Nobody gets one of those.) Too many Bulldogs need to grow up or go home.
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831 comments Add your comment
Time Out
July 12th, 2010
3:21 pm
All you all tech nerds are scared. Your beat down is scheduled for November.
I Could've Put Some Lame Name Here
July 12th, 2010
3:21 pm
I am not defending him but I disagree with making an example out of someone. BUT make the repercussions KNOWN in advance and they DESERVE whatever happens to them.
ac
July 12th, 2010
3:21 pm
MARK – How would someone go about creating a standard rule for college athletics, possibly academics? That would be interesting. Take it out of the coaches hands and put completely in the players hands.
Huh?
July 12th, 2010
3:23 pm
Very mature posting, Time Out. Forgive me if I’m not threatened.
wiley
July 12th, 2010
3:23 pm
UGA fans really think the police force has an agenda against them. Thats laughable and further evidence of the idiocy of the fanbase. No one is picking on UGA…your boys drank and drove…get over it. Im sure plenty of the cops are UGA fans in this state….plenty. You guys will say anything to avoid the real problem.
Huh?
July 12th, 2010
3:25 pm
“I’m not trying to bribe you or anything, but I play football for the University (sic) of Georgia.”
ac
July 12th, 2010
3:25 pm
Whether the cops have an axe to grind or not, the kid DROVE DRUNK! I applaud the police for doing their job.
George O'Liary
July 12th, 2010
3:27 pm
These kids are absolutely killing the integrity of their institutions. The only thing worse than an underage drunk is a legal age liar. Oops……………….
Grandpa Right, formerly of Cochran
July 12th, 2010
3:29 pm
I have no proof, but I suspect the police in many big college towns tend to look the other way when the offender is a jock. There really is no way for a fair comparison.
The Athens Police Department and the UGA Campus Police, on the other hand, tend to behave like a bunch of mall cops given arrest privileges. They LOVE the attention they get for arresting athletes- or anyone else, for that matter. My daughter was in a CAB going home from downtown 2 falls ago, and a cop stopped the cab, breathalized (sp?) everyone, and gave all with a trace of alcohol an MIP. IN A CAB??? They should have been congratulated for using good sense and given a get out of jail free card for the next time. But not the Deputy Dawgs in Athens….
Huh?
July 12th, 2010
3:29 pm
It’s a good sign when folks have to point out something that happened a decade ago…
Get real
July 12th, 2010
3:30 pm
Anybody who says Richt doesn’t punish his players when they mess up (or didn’t used to punish his players before ‘08) is completely talking out of his or her arse. When taking into context the nature of the offenses, his punishments have been among the most severe in major college football throughout his tenure here.
I’m no Richt apologist either. I’ve been less than thrilled with the last 4 seasons.
George O'Liary
July 12th, 2010
3:31 pm
Huh?, I guess we could point out the academic failings of the tech basketball team. That wasn’t a decade ago, was it?
SickandTired
July 12th, 2010
3:31 pm
Mark I think I can see your tongue in cheek in this article. Of course Mark Richt is a nice guy, but as you stated he needs to clean up the recruiting rolls and then after they are there tolerate nothing like this stuff. He’s paid 3 million a year to make sure this kind of stuff doesn’t happen repeatedly. He obviously can’t recruit high character players and he can’t control them or coach them when they get there.
Fire him now or fire him later.
Georgia: The Wisconsin of the SEC
Georgia deserves better.
George O'Liary
July 12th, 2010
3:31 pm
Huh?, and how long ago did the Joe Hamilton affair take place?
RxDawg
July 12th, 2010
3:32 pm
I’ve only read the title, and HECK NO. Despite what some of our rivals try to say, Richt is one of the best of head coaches to discipline.
And Bradely, your posts fill up quick with comments.
former georgian
July 12th, 2010
3:32 pm
Wasn’t this less of a problem when football players were segregated in their own dorm? Maybe part of the problem is the company they keep-Georgia students who don’t play football.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 12th, 2010
3:33 pm
I just heard where my nephew got a speeding ticket. I guess my brother did a crappy job of raising him.
Time Out
July 12th, 2010
3:33 pm
All these DUI and drunks remind me a lot of Stoned Out Drunk Driving Lil Joe Hamilton of Tech fame. Also, Reggie Ball who must have been on “Purple Drank” when playing 5 down football. Geez you tech people are stupid.
fmt@aristotle.com
July 12th, 2010
3:33 pm
I get the DUI stuff, but come on your 18 years old and can’t drink a beer. I know I was getting my drink-on my 1st year of college.
GT Alum
July 12th, 2010
3:34 pm
To the folks who say the coach can’t judge character and they’re just after the best football players, you just show how little you know about college recruiting. College football coaches need to know not only about a player’s athletic abilities and skills, but is he coachable on the field, is he willing to put in the effort in the classroom, is he a good teammate, etc. All of those things go back to character.
And for the comments that UGA players get in more trouble because Athens has more temptation, why was Mettenberger arrested for actions that occurred in Milledgeville? And do you really think there’s more hot women and wild parties and alcohol available in Athens than in the A-T-L? Now, I won’t argue that there’s not more of those things on campus at UGA than Tech, but there’s clubs and bars and women and alcohol all over Atlanta. And there’s enough parties and drinking and women that Tech athletes could find plenty of trouble if they were looking. Also, if the drinking is going on on campus, why the hell are they driving in the first place?
And no, the APD probably isn’t out looking specifically for Tech students or athletes, but if you think they’re not out at bars and on the roads looking for drunk drivers, you’re deluding yourself. And I have a hard time believing APD or the Georgia State Patrol is more likely to give Tech athletes more leeway than UGA athletes get. Hell, at least 50% of them are probably UGA fans that would love to see Tech athletes embarrassed.
BTW, I’m really not trying to cast Tech as innocent compared to “thUGA”, just responding to comments on the board. And Tech in Atlanta is really the easiest place for me to compare to. I don’t know if UNC kids get a free pass in Chapel Hill or if Miami police take it easy on athletes from the U (I think they’ve been relatively clean lately), so I can’t really make that comparison.
Ted M
July 12th, 2010
3:34 pm
One game for most of these offenses is a joke, but thats not the half of it, in most cases it the first game of the season against some pitiful lightweight which the players consider as a meaningless preseason game.
6 games for hit and run, DUI, no drivers license, among other offenses is a joke too, a big joke. But you’re right… for CMR going 8 and 5 gets him in more trouble and thats not his fault either.
What about these Kids parents? Are they blameless? Why doesn’t the media descend upon them? Dereliction of duty perhaps.
Win P.
July 12th, 2010
3:35 pm
It doesn’t appear that there is enought disincentive built into the punishment. Kids who insist on screwing up should have to pay “court costs” too. The time spent in investigating the offense, the time spend talking to the media, the paper work & etc.
My wife & I raised three great kids. They all have college degrees, jobs, and families. They are responsible citizens. At a family get-to-gether, our daughter told a story about advice her older brother gave her during their younger years. She was considering doing something mom & dad had prohibited. His advice to her was simple…”Don’t do it, its not worth it”.
GT71
July 12th, 2010
3:35 pm
NOt Richt’s fault? Did you blame Bush for Katrina? Yes? Then it’s Richt’s fault. Blame Nobama for the Gulf leak? Yes? Then Richt is to blame.
If you are the head indian, the tribes’ travails are yours.
Deal with it.
Time Out
July 12th, 2010
3:36 pm
Someone needs to put Smokin Little Joe Hamilton back in the booth calling games. I need to be HIGH as he is to understand him.
Things that make you go hmmmm....
July 12th, 2010
3:36 pm
GT Alum
July 12th, 2010
3:34 pm
Sorry, but I don’t read thesis sized posts anymore.
HotDawgette
July 12th, 2010
3:37 pm
To the person who claimed that Alabama hasn’t had any arrests in 2 going on 3 years, Courtney Upshaw was arrested for domestic violence in 2009 (Last year for the uneducated or timeline impaired)and 3 players were arrested in 2008 for disorderly conduct. Saban himself said that off field discipline problems resulted in 30 games missed by players (at the time of his statement) over the last several years. So, Georgia has issues but so do other schools. You can’t hurl stones and neither can we. The problems have to be fixed and discipline has to be maintained by the athletes and coaches. As a lifelong Georgia fan, alum and someone who hasn’t missed a game – home, away or bowl games – in 32 years – I’m embarrassed and angry.
TC Dawg
July 12th, 2010
3:37 pm
TL, how many stories do we need to bring up about Bama? http://bleacherreport.com/articles/11677-alabama-football-woes-nick-saban-brings-miami-mentality-to-tuscaloosa
UGA (STUPID REDNECK FANS, 7-5, 1980, RAPE, ZACK METTENBERGER)
July 12th, 2010
3:37 pm
thugu 4 life dog….cheaaaayyy son!
Insert Clever Name Here
July 12th, 2010
3:38 pm
My thoughts: First – Underage drinking occurs EVERYWHERE and especially on college campuses, where there is little supervision and lots of available booze. It’s going to happen, and to think that it is not or can be controlled is simply naive. Part of the blame, therefore, must be placed on the University and the city of Athens. They make it too easy to drink and drive.Why not provide the students with a free shuttle service (free as in paid for by tuition/taxes as opposed to paying each trip). We had such a service (called “Bacchus,” ironically), at my college. It was a free van service that was specifically designed to shuttle drunk folks around campus.
Second – some credit must be given to the University and Athens police. They are not providing these players or anyone else, for that matter, with free passes and are taking this underage drinking seriously. I’m sure that other SEC teams’ players might get preferential treatment from their town’s and university’s police departments. Maybe we just have better or less corrupt cops than they do, or an atheletic department and/or coach less willing to tolerate such behavior. The fact that more of our players get arrested than in other major college programs does not mean that our program is “out of control” or “thuggish.” In fact, it may be the case that our program is in MORE control than others BECAUSE we are able/willing to find and punish these persons. I guarantee that the behavior is the same everywhere.
Third – suspending a player for more than three games for a single underage drinking offense would be much too excessive, in my opinion. Nearly every 18, 19, and 20 year old on the team drinks. Most probably smoke pot occasionally. It’s in a teenager’s nature to do dumb things and think they’re invincible. I’m not saying you should just accept or condone their behavior, but you should at try to understand it and fit the punishment accordingly to the crime and not be reactionary. First time for underage consumsuption or misdemeanor posession should be 1 – 3 games. For a second offense, I’m fine with 8 – 12 games. If driving is involved, then that is different and 6 games to a year may be more appropriate. Any sexual misconduct, if proven to the satisfaction of the coach, is worthy of a full year’s suspension or summary dismissal.
Bruce Mac
July 12th, 2010
3:38 pm
Bla bla bla. Stop the presses, stop the presses, football players at UGA drink beer. What rock did you idiots crawl out from under? It isn’t like our players are stealing from dead people or beating up off duty police. When they do stuff like that they are kicked off the team. Quit hating just because your life sux.
Old Tech
July 12th, 2010
3:38 pm
Is it just because I’m a Tech fan that I think that driving drunk within a month of the Damon arrest and all of its publicity is even more stupid?
BigTimeTechFan
July 12th, 2010
3:38 pm
Richt runs his program a lot like Berry Switzer at Oklahoma in the 80’s, eventually Switzer had to go because of all the problems.
wiley
July 12th, 2010
3:38 pm
Grandpa Right…..way to deflect from the REAL issue. Who cares if the cop goes on “power trips”…I think the same thing every time I get a speeding ticket. The job of police officers is to keep the peace and enforce the laws of the land. They aren’t singling anyone out…maybe your players shouldn’t drive drunk…because when you do that you violate a law. Its as simple as that…your making yourself look very narrow minded. UGA is not singled out…nor is any school. If anything they are protected because the majority of the police force are UGA fans or whatever the state school may be fans. Furthermore, the majority of the state is UGA fans…why wouldnt an uneducated work force consisting of citizens of this state(the police force) be filled with UGA loving sidewalk fans. Wow you guys will say anything to avoid the real issue.
UGAKEV
July 12th, 2010
3:38 pm
UGA players get arrested for underage drinking,it’s Athens GA people! Only those that have been to athens would know the temptation of that town. They have more bars than the whole SEC conbined..lol..well maybe not but its pretty ridiculous. The drinking age should be 18 but its not, so thats life… But atleast the majority of UGA players getting arrested are only underage drinking or not having a license. I will not take up for their stupidity though for getting caught. If I live in a place where cops are everywhere looking for this kind of stuff in a college town i think i will be a little smart about doing things. Oh well though maybe after this great season the players will get smarter on and off the field. GO DAWGS!
Shreveport Sam
July 12th, 2010
3:40 pm
Anyone thinking that all of these things are just “accidentally” happening over at UGA are just deluding themselves. Poor leadership is poor leadership, what do y’all expect after just having watched your AD get arrested for drunken driving with a ho’s red panties betwixt his legs?
I’d say more but I need a drink!
Huh?
July 12th, 2010
3:40 pm
Last I checked, Joe Hamilton was not a player when he got busted. I mean, seriously. If you want to point to former athletes behavior, that’s a fight I’d be willing to have. I’d strongly suggest you not go down that road though.
Shreveport Sam
July 12th, 2010
3:41 pm
Did I hear someone mention Quincy Carter?
willie
July 12th, 2010
3:41 pm
I am a big Jackets fan but I also like Richt. In order to compete in the SEC at a high level, you will have to bring in many kids that aren’t exactly the highest character or highest intellect kids. There is no way to avoid this if you want to be a top 10 team every year.
Douglas
July 12th, 2010
3:41 pm
I’m not condoning the behavior of the players but I grew up in Athens and attended UGA: it has more law enforcement than you can shake a stick at. You have the UGA police, the Clarke County Police, and the State Patrol.
Ted M
July 12th, 2010
3:41 pm
It is more stupid. Thats obvious. The 64 thousand dollar question is… why are these kids stupid? 9 times out of 10 is because their parents are stupid.
Huh?
July 12th, 2010
3:42 pm
How are academic failings and breaking law comparable?
Huh?
July 12th, 2010
3:43 pm
Then may be they shouldn’t be so stupid as to misbehave under those circumstances, Douglas.
Conventional Wisdom
July 12th, 2010
3:43 pm
Great articles highlighting the problems at Georgia. In fact, I’ll be taking this with me to the living rooms of some prospective recruits. I’ll lay this down on the table and say, you know, they’ve had some real problems over there at Georgia…seems like 10-20% of their football team gets arrested every year. Our program is dedicated to helping our young men grow and mature, not just with athletics and academics, but as a man. Mark Richt is a great guy…but…well you know…a lot of his guys simply end up needing their parents to post bail. I’m just saying…
Gbal
July 12th, 2010
3:44 pm
1) No tolorance for DUI’s whatsoever. Laws set to handle this and they should be strict. I can see a semester suspension from the team (school) for a DUI whether an athelete or not. Good point that other students should also be encouraged to be accountable and suffer the same consequences as atheletes! A DUI or any other violent crime by any student, and your OUT for the semester.
2) On the other hand, MIP or underaged possession is an absolute joke. First the kids that are having a few brews…do you think they started when they came to UGA or any other university for that matter. NO They started it in highschool. The legal age should be changed back to 18. It (changing to 21) has done absolutely nothing to keep 18 year olds (or yournger for that matter) from drinking. It is gonna happen on every college campus in the Country. Whether they get caught or not is another question but really not relevent. IT HAPPENS AND IS GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAPPEN. Drop the age to 18 and let parents handle the issue if they choose.
BDAWG
July 12th, 2010
3:44 pm
These kids don’t understand what kind of opportunity that they have been given. Many athelets would like to have the break that they have. These are just stupid decisions and when you make your bed, you have to lie in it. I agree that the punishment should fit the penalty, but a firmer policy has to be put into place. You would think that the kids would be concentrating on the upcoming season and trying to win a NC, but I guess none of them want the opportunity to play at the next level. UGA takes a long time to make offers to these kids trying to find the most disciplined kids but, you still don’t know what you will get until they get there.
ugot2bkidding
July 12th, 2010
3:45 pm
For the mere fact CMR kicked Mettenberger off of the team, a potential starting QB one would think some of these idiots would get the MESSAGE!
UGAgrad71
July 12th, 2010
3:46 pm
I remember some ALL SEC and other types who “lit up the bars” after a UGA win. What is lacking, in my opinion, is judgement by present day athletes, who will not recognize in todays world with cell phone cameras and the internet, that any activity, no matter how small or indescrete, will become headlines the next day. Where is a frat house when you need one, lol!
thUGA
July 12th, 2010
3:47 pm
thUGA like to get his drink on!
ac
July 12th, 2010
3:49 pm
It’s not about drinking, it is about DUI!!!!! I do not care what the legal drinking age is, but a DUI cannot be excused. It cannot be an exception. Stop combining the two.
The kid should be kicked off the team and King should be suspended for 3 games for being in the car with an idiot let alone drinking himself.
Mark Bradley
July 12th, 2010
3:49 pm
I wouldn’t liken Mark Richt to Barry Switzer, BigTimeTechFan.