Steve Spurrier on a rampage: Rips a columnist, dumps Garcia
Here's Steve Spurrier, working hard on his public image. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)
Having once received a handwritten letter from Steve Spurrier in which I, humble scribe, was described using a term most often reserved for the barnyard, I know full well that the man with the massive ego isn’t above taking umbrage over the slightest of slights. So it was with some amusement that I learned of the fit he threw in the direction of the State’s Ron Morris today.
Short version: The Evil Genius walked into his weekly press conference and ripped into Morris, who was sitting in the room. (Information is provided by WISTV.com, which also offers a helpful video of Spurrier’s bizarre spiel.) The E.G. informed the assembled media that he needed to “get something off my chest.” He then took Morris to task for a column he’d written this spring on Spurrier’s “borrowing” of Bruce Ellington from the South Carolina basketball program. Morris’ description of the E.G.’s “courting” of Ellington, was, quoth Spurrier, “a fabrication.”
So Spurrier offered the rest of the media this one-time-0nly deal: He’d go off elsewhere and do one-on-ones with the TV stations, and when he returned he’d brief the print/Internet folks. Only trouble was, Morris was there when the E.G. made his reappearance. So Spurrier left, his rationale being that he wasn’t going to help Morris write negative things about his program.
I’ve seen this Spurrier in action, and it’s at odds with the usual plainspoken and entertaining E.G. Before the SEC title game in 1994 here, he refused to answer — or even take — a question from Larry Guest, then the columnist for the Orlando Sentinel. Guest and Spurrier had had a running contretemps, and it was my use of a printed Guest nugget that prompted the handwritten note mentioned by Mark Bowden in his New Yorker profile of Spurrier. (The nugget: Guest wrote that Spurrier sought to have a Gainesville Sun beat writer reassigned after the writer gave Auburn’s Terry Bowden the edge over the E.G. in one of those matchup-box things.)
For the record, I enjoy watching Spurrier in interview mode. (Who doesn’t?) I don’t enjoy it when a big-time coach tries to bigfoot a local writer. Mr. Morris is a fully accredited member of the media. He has every right to be sitting where he was. It’s part of the job. For the E.G. to decide, apparently after months of stewing, that he’d make a big deal of an old column was the height of unprofessionalism, not to mention immaturity.
Let’s also note the timing: Spurrier didn’t make his strange little stand after his Gamecocks had gotten whipped by Auburn. He did it a week later, after South Carolina had beaten Kentucky 54-3. Funny how that worked.
And for those who are saying: “Bradley, you just hate Spurrier because he called you a bad name?” … for the record, I don’t hate him. But I get called bad names on this little blog on a daily basis and I have, via necessity, developed a thick skin. The E.G. would be well served to do the same.
Oh, and that wasn’t the only strange news emanating from Columbia today: In a statement, South Carolina announced that the oft-suspended and recently deposed quarterback Stephen Garcia is no longer a Gamecock. We can only assume Garcia’s final offense was in saying, “You know, Ron Morris is a really fine writer.”
By Mark Bradley
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316 comments Add your comment
Red Stick
October 11th, 2011
8:08 pm
Way to go Ole Ball Coach!!
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
October 11th, 2011
8:23 pm
Steve didn’t boot Garcia the Admin did this time and The Old Ball Coach didn’t have a choice!!! Sportwriters like much of the academia have never done anything but according to them know how to do everything!!! Much like the POS in the White House. Tie their fecking show would be a athletic accomplishment for 95% of them while the other 5% wear slip ons
Fan of the Game
October 11th, 2011
8:26 pm
I don’t understand it. Garcia had nine lives and only used 8 of them. Somebody explain that to me.
Fidlin1
October 11th, 2011
8:34 pm
Rampage? More like meltdown.
bitter bad thrower
October 11th, 2011
8:45 pm
——————–6 pack anyone——burp–fart—scatch———–noise pick—–no mo practice—–cool
—————————hahahahahahahahh—-gracia—–bye-bye—–1.0–gpa
GT Joe
October 11th, 2011
8:48 pm
St. Simon’s Daddy: The SEC East is irrelevant. UGA might win it, and it has less votes in the coaches poll than UNC and WAKE FOREST. LOL.
You should pray that a somewhat legit team wins that division, like SC, just for credibility’s sake.
okfornowinSC
October 11th, 2011
8:57 pm
I just read on Fox Sports website where Garcia was booted because he failed a periodic test for the presence of any alcohol as a condition of his reinstatement. Had nothing to do with Spurrier being mad at him.
okfornowinSC
October 11th, 2011
8:58 pm
So Bulldawg Bill – You feel Spurrier is an SOB because he seems to have a way of beating your puppies year end and year out – especially when with FL.
okfornowinSC
October 11th, 2011
9:01 pm
Here is that Fox Sports link: http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/South-Carolina-QB-Stephen-Garcia-dismissed-for-failed-alcohol-test-101111
Kevin
October 11th, 2011
9:12 pm
GT Joe- you are an absolute clown!
morris
October 11th, 2011
9:16 pm
morris fabricates a story about spurrier, and the media is now blaming spurrier for calling him out??? funny stuff–some of the best—keep it coming!!! media rules!!!
calm now
October 11th, 2011
9:23 pm
he beat Georgia didnt he??=======I am a dog fan but i try to look at reality——last time I checked he was ahead of UGA in the East.
kreedham
October 11th, 2011
9:29 pm
Georgia will be better off not winning the east this year cause the winner of AL-LSU is gonna kill the east winner. This is 1 year it would be better to be 2nd.
jerri
October 11th, 2011
9:32 pm
I think you guys have a little man’s complex and are just jealous of the ole ball coach!!
SuperB
October 11th, 2011
9:37 pm
Spurrier kept Garcia until he no longer needed him.
Grayson Gamecock
October 11th, 2011
9:44 pm
Anyone that has ever read Ron Morris knows he’s a dreadful writer; the only coach he ever printed good stories about was his jogging buddy Dave Odom. SOS, Holtz, nor Tanner have been up to MoRon’s standards…
jaaaayyyyyyyy
October 11th, 2011
9:45 pm
Rampage? Hardly. Ripped into a reporter? Not.
That was about as cool and professional as you could handle that. You make it sound like he was ranting and raving and in this guys’ face? You totally misrepresented the press conference. How could that have been handled any better. He seemed a bit nervous, probably because this had been weighing on his mind, but not angry condescending, or rude. He just spoke in a straightforward and honest manner. No wonder you got that letter from him.
Ted Bell
October 11th, 2011
9:50 pm
Mark Bradley’s snarky comments prove he is as big of jerk as he accuses Spurrier of being.
The main difference between the two is I would not use the word genius to describe Bradley…hack yes…genius never.
Hy Ronatt
October 11th, 2011
9:56 pm
Good for Steve. You boot-licking sycophants warrant all the abuse you receive.
Stephen Garcia
October 11th, 2011
9:58 pm
Head Ball Coach still using the Ping Eye 2’s
Pencil necked geek
October 11th, 2011
10:00 pm
I hear that Garcia is heading to Wisconsin to be next years QB
BigTimeTECHFan
October 11th, 2011
10:02 pm
Paul Hewitt should have done the same with Mark Bradley. I have no huge beef with Mark and like ome of his stuff, but it was so obvious that Mark had it out for Coach Hewitt.
South Eastern Criminals
October 11th, 2011
10:02 pm
all hail the great one, the one that got Auburn to give his family 180,000 and get away with it
Scam Newton nothing but the shame of the SEC and that is hard to become the absolute top shame of that conference being there is so many shameful players and coaches in that horsemanure. Yeah Slive some commissioner you are, how you set such high standards, my backside, your day Slive is coming buddy
South Eastern Criminals
October 11th, 2011
10:03 pm
carvell is a goober
Fan of the Game
October 11th, 2011
10:04 pm
I wonder if Auburn needs a QB, Garcia might need the money.
Fan of the Game
October 11th, 2011
10:06 pm
If Auburn is not in running for the National Championship, Newton would have been suspended but there was too much money for the SEC involved. College football is as close to the NFL as it can get without being called the NFL.
Hobbler
October 11th, 2011
10:16 pm
The Evil Genius has become just Evil. He lost the Genius the past 8 years.
Liz
October 11th, 2011
10:19 pm
This whole thing is hilarious!
tanden
October 11th, 2011
10:22 pm
everybone @ usc knew garcia was on his way out. so after shaw showed up @ kentucky, with game in hand spurrier wanted to see what his backups had. take a knee? screw that! he’s always done that! he did it to SC when he was @ florida! run your offense, if they can’t stop ‘em they call you busch league….i say BS! go cocks!
oldfart
October 11th, 2011
10:24 pm
Whatever they are calling the NCAA Division I now it is the equivalent of baseball’s minor leagues. One major difference being that the NFL teams are not directly responsible for the actions of their bush leagues. Spurrier has proven that his style of coaching only works in the bush leagues. Many of his actions including taunting other team’s coaches, players and fans has proven him very bush league.
tanden
October 11th, 2011
10:28 pm
garcia was on his way out. spurrier knew it, thats why shaw played and with the game in hand he needed to see his backups in game situations. so they scored against kentucky too! so what! they call you busch league when the other team cant stop em. BS spurrier did it to USC when he was @ florida. big deal. go gamecocks, shaw and spurrier. but good luck against bama or lsu in the sec championship. you’ll need it!
outlaw
October 11th, 2011
10:32 pm
love all the talk about scruples and behavior from UGA fans……how many players on your team have been arrested in the last 24 months….
oh and the reason he is called the evil genius is his ability to pull the wool over the eyes of UGA on the field and off…ever stop to think he did this today to divert some attention away from Garcia….not for his sake but for a 23 yr old who was about to have a day very few of you could withstand……First weekend in Dec…..USC vs. Bama/LSU
tanden
October 11th, 2011
10:32 pm
Enter your comments here
HardTruth Soldier
October 11th, 2011
10:36 pm
You Hacks don’t have a right to write what you want without facts, Let us come to your jobs put camera’s on you, print and media B.S. and slander your name. Lets see how you handle dealing with a multi million dollar operation and teenagers at the same time. Ain’t as easy as you think!!
tanden
October 11th, 2011
10:40 pm
spurrier knew garcia was on the way out! shaw played well and that made the final decision easier! and about running up the score….so what run your offense. OBC needed to see his backups in action to know what he had. bush league blah blah blah. kentucky plays in the same division as USC, theyre big boys. spurrier, saban, tressel, meyer, stoops, bowden, theyve all done it! so what? GO GAMECOCKS!!
tanden
October 11th, 2011
10:43 pm
everybody @ usc knew garcia was as good as gone….and connor shaw just made it easier for em!
Lakedawg
October 11th, 2011
10:44 pm
The Ole Ball Coach has about had enough of all this headache and frustration. Time is getting real close for him to spend more time hitting that little round ball.
Lets just hope the chickens do not come up with a coach that could recruit enough out of state players to actually win sn SEC championship.
tanden
October 11th, 2011
10:45 pm
and so what if he ran up the score! he needed to see his backups cause he knew what was gonna happen!
tanden
October 11th, 2011
10:48 pm
and stop calling it bush league, theyve all done it! spurrier, bowden, meyer, tressle, stoops, fulmer,saban! all the best coaches in the ncaa cant be busch league
Al Bundy
October 11th, 2011
11:09 pm
You should be proud that he even knew who you were. I scored 4 touchdowns in 1 game and never heard from him!!!!!!
Tom Greenthumb
October 11th, 2011
11:11 pm
Yawn. Half of this column is about it’s writer.
And Coach Spurrier is “the man with the massive ego”?
News Hound
October 11th, 2011
11:18 pm
Bradley should get the same treatment by the UGA Coaches for the daily dribble he writes. If this hack is a writer then my son the 5 year old T-Ball player should be in the major leagues.
St. Simon's Daddy
October 11th, 2011
11:37 pm
GT Joe,
If you want to talk about irrelvelant. How come your number 13 ranked team can not sell out a game? Only team in the ACC that is revelant this year is Clemson. The Jackets will see that first hand in a couple of weeks.
Ckgator
October 11th, 2011
11:47 pm
Spurrier accomplished more in any given 3 year period at Florida – than Georgia has since the early 80’s. No wonder there are so many haters on the ajc blog.
red&black
October 11th, 2011
11:52 pm
Spurrier……….. What a putz, twit, peckerhead……
Garcia…………. See above……
Ckgator
October 12th, 2011
12:04 am
Spurrier has always been two things: honest and direct. He’s no press suck-up or pretty boy. Which means that journalists don’t always get what they want and he makes an enemies in the press. I’d much prefer this to the baloney love fests of Bobby Bowden, mark Richt (after winning two consecutive games), etc. Spurrier is the prolific coach UGA will never have.
Blythewood
October 12th, 2011
12:12 am
What has happened to credible journalists? Spurrier didn’t “Dump” anyone the University did. I assume that Mark is supporting the movement for the gang of careless writers that get to publish articles in a newspaper with a lack of credible sources. The head ball coach, basketball coach and the student all have the same story, which is that Ellington approached the football program. Like him, or not, there is no denying that Spurrier has a reputation of sticking to honest and ethical practices. This isn’t a football story as much as it is that this “journalist” is blatantly disturbing the well-being of a college student. Bully!
UGA 2011
October 12th, 2011
12:49 am
so now UGA got beat by a dismissed Quarterback … I bet that makes them feel better about that loss
NCDAWG
October 12th, 2011
5:19 am
Enter your comments here
Weather Channel Expert
October 12th, 2011
6:20 am
Looks like the ole Ball Coach needs to work on his swing…breaking his wrists down too much