Green receives four-game ban; UGA plans appeal
(Updated 8:40 p.m.)
ATHENS – The NCAA came down hard Wednesday on A.J. Green, ordering Georgia’s star wide receiver to sit out four games as punishment for selling a game jersey to a sports agent.
Green sold the jersey he wore in last season’s Independence Bowl for $1,000, according to the facts of the case stipulated by Georgia.
The school plans to appeal the NCAA ruling in hopes of having the length of the suspension reduced. The appeal could be heard next week, coach Mark Richt said.
Green was held out of last week’s season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette, pending the results of the NCAA investigation, which began in July. He must sit out the Bulldogs’ next three games -– Saturday at South Carolina, Sept. 18 at home vs. Arkansas and Sept. 25 at Mississippi State –- unless the appeal is successful. He will be eligible to return for the Oct. 2 game at Colorado.
“Certainly I’m disappointed with the outcome,” Richt said. “However, we have games to play, and that’s where our focus needs to be in the coming days and weeks. Other players will have to step forward, and I’m confident they will do that.”
Richt informed his players of the NCAA ruling shortly before Wednesday’s practice.
“He assured us we have the talent on this team to play with or without [Green],” tight end Aron White said. “We’re still Georgia. One player doesn’t make Georgia. That’s something [Richt] made very clear to us, that he still has complete confidence in us.”
The NCAA did not name the individual who bought the jersey from Green but said the person meets the organization’s definition of an agent -– “any individual who markets or promotes a student-athlete.” That put Green in violation of the NCAA rule against receiving benefits from agents.
Selling a jersey to a non-agent also would violate NCAA rules, which prohibit student-athletes from receiving money for memorabilia.
Green has donated $1,000, the amount he received for the jersey, to charity, the NCAA said.
The four-game ban is at the top end of the range the NCAA typically imposes for this type of violation.
The NCAA said it reviews each case “on its own merits based on the specific facts. Staff decisions are made based on a number of factors including . . . the student-athlete’s responsibility for the violation, as well as any mitigating factors presented by the university.”
In another recent case, the NCAA last week suspended Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus for two games for accepting almost $1,800 in benefits from an agent. In that case, the NCAA said Dareus received a two-game ban, rather than four games, “based on mitigating circumstances.”
Green will be allowed to practice with the Georgia team during his banishment from games and, in fact, did so Wednesday.
”I want to apologize to my coaches, teammates and the Georgia fans for the mistake in judgment,” Green said in a statement. “I very much regret all that has taken place and the distraction that’s been caused. I’ve learned a valuable lesson and hope others can learn from my mistake. I can only focus my attention now on practicing and looking ahead to getting back with my teammates as quickly as possible.”
Green did not meet with reporters. Richt summed up Green’s reaction: “He’s hurt. He’s sad. He’s sorry for what happened.”
Wide receiver Tavarres King said the Green news was “pretty shocking” to him and vowed to help pick up the slack in the star player’s absence.
“I got to step up and make plays to fill the void for A.J.” King said. “Big shoes to fill. Huge shoes to fill.”
Green, a junior from Summerville, S.C., was named to preseason All-SEC and some preseason All-America teams. He is projected as a high first-round pick if he enters next year’s NFL draft, as most observers expect him to do.
Green caught 53 passes for 808 yards and six touchdowns last season, when he missed three-plus games with injuries. He caught 56 passes for 963 yards and eight touchdowns as a freshman in 2008.
Georgia’s appeal will be heard by the NCAA Division I Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement, which is comprised of representatives from NCAA member schools. Green cannot play in games during the appeal process.
As is standard procedural form in such cases, Georgia declared Green ineligible and the NCAA set his penalty and the terms of his reinstatement.
The NCAA informed Georgia on July 21 of the Green investigation — one in a series of probes at a number of schools into dealings between athletes and agents. Green said on July 22 that he was asked by Georgia officials if he attended an agent-hosted party in Miami that triggered investigations at several schools. He said he did not.
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1,225 comments Add your comment
Bama Graduate
September 8th, 2010
7:45 pm
Enter your comments here
HENRY
September 8th, 2010
7:45 pm
NOT A SURPRISE…………MOST OF THE TEAM MEMBERS ARE THUGS ANYWAY. I’M SURPRISED THEY CAN FIELD A TEAM.
Govols
September 8th, 2010
7:48 pm
NCAA wants all the money off college football. Think of all the money they make off licencsing on all the teams jerseys.
THUGA FOOTBALL
September 8th, 2010
7:49 pm
DOES THE WHOLE SEC CHEAT, LIE and STEAL ???
HE MY BABY DADDY
September 8th, 2010
7:49 pm
GUILTY!!!
jeff
September 8th, 2010
7:53 pm
Thanks AJ…Thanks Coach Richt….Thanks all you arrested players…..talk a pretty good smack in the spring but here we are in fall and the same old crap. I am a life lobg dawg fan but NO more…sick and tired of all the expectations from a group of spoiled players and a coach that sits back and does NOTHING did your appology make you feel better aj? well i think it sucks….another year another lost opportunity….hopefully SC kicks our butts…maybe that is what you deserve….Murry- you feel good man? all the smack talk becuse we beat a hs team….you all sicken me
Govols
September 8th, 2010
7:53 pm
I got a number 8 crompton jersey for sale full disclosure I bought it for a pack of gum and a bottle of mad dog 20/20
A Jay
September 8th, 2010
7:54 pm
Don we sell our Ugay apparel Fa la la Fa la la la la la !
Hale Almand
September 8th, 2010
7:56 pm
he sold a jersey to a Agent…..for a grand!!! meaning he took money from a Agent! Walkers Jersey isn’t worth a grand,I don’t think any are….maybe Babe Ruth. He took money and then He and UGA tried to cover it up. = 4 days off.
HAHAHAHA
September 8th, 2010
7:58 pm
Nobody wants a Tech jersey!
BIG TECH FAN
September 8th, 2010
7:58 pm
Hey little doggies don’t you fret, sorry that yall wrote that bcs check this year that your team won’t cash like Tech. All the arrests yall have every year ain’t swell, all you have no teeth and you damn sure can’t spell. Tech will remain ahead of yall in the standings all year long, so stay in the cesspools of south georgia and athens forever, cause you’ll never be better than Tech EVER!!!!!
Dawg_Central
September 8th, 2010
8:00 pm
All the HAHAHA’s still ain’t gonna save Carolina from getting their a** beat. Has to be a Tech fan and we don’t need AJ to whip the Yellow Jacket’s either………if you really want something to laugh about Tech fans……hmmmmmm….how about 8 out of 9…..does that ring a bell?????? Unlike Tech, UGA has someone to step in and fill the position….so Go Dawgs…….and HAHA when AJ runs by your D’backs in November….hahahahahahah.
Alabama Fan
September 8th, 2010
8:01 pm
You Dawg fans just don’t get it. Alabama football is a class program. The NCAA looks out after the more elite programs in college football. UGA just does not fall into that category. UGA has only regional fan support (namely people from Georgia). Alabama has national following. That makes a difference to NCAA officials.
Dawg_Central
September 8th, 2010
8:02 pm
I like men
UGA Rap Sheet
September 8th, 2010
8:03 pm
SEC = Southeastern Criminals
Dawg_Central
September 8th, 2010
8:04 pm
jeff…..go pull for Vanderbilt you candy a**…..You ain’t a real Dawg fan, you are a nerd thats never played two hand touch in the back yard, Go Dawgs……and all you cry babies, go get Vandy tickets!!! And Tech fans…..it’s not even a debate anymore…….UGA is your Daddy, it’s already been written in the history books that way….HAHAHA!!!!!
Dawgs4life
September 8th, 2010
8:05 pm
4 games it to much, he would have been better off going to miami!
but we are still better the Georgia Wreck, and yes we do still run this state with or without AJ green and we will run it again all over you come this November…….hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahaha………………….hayhahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha…..GO DAWGS!
Big L
September 8th, 2010
8:05 pm
Techies can yuck it up. Last I checked when we needed a TD against LSU, A.J. Made the catch. Remind me what happened when Nesbitt threw that last pass to Baybay.
5150 P.O.A.D
September 8th, 2010
8:06 pm
Does AJ start the Prison Roll with an Eight? Man he will not take a shower for years after starting with a #8.
Jacket Spray
September 8th, 2010
8:07 pm
Let us look at the whole picture here. Young man who will be in the top 5 NFL pick this year. This will not affect his potential at making more money than anybody posting a stupid blog about Georgia’s inability to be a good team. No tech graduate will make more than him next year. God Bless our Dawg nation!
GT Fan ...
September 8th, 2010
8:07 pm
OOOPPS! Maybe a little stiff on the 4-games, but the “crime” was committed, and appologizing & paying back the $ doesn’t change that fact. And maybe, just maybe the NCAA felt there was some substance to AJ’s “I wasn’t in Miami” plea, thus the 4-games.
Unfortunate that so many of these young men these days – FULL SCHOLARSHIP Atheletes – aren’t satisfied enough with what all they are getting in the FULL Scholly, especially at a school like GA. Just think how satisfied your basic student would be if he had all the perks that the athelete gets.
Heard his father has lost his job. In this tough economy I hope his father finds work soon, or can at least make ends meet until AJ earns some NFL $.
wow
September 8th, 2010
8:08 pm
It’s amazing how tech fans rejoice at an injustice. It’s amazing that they still can talk crap after being owned every year (but one) for the last decade. Does it depress you that Georgia could lose the best wr in the nation and still be able to beat the techers? “Never be better than Tech EVER”??? wow. I wonder if you are really that ignorant or willingly stupid.
Gratefudawghead
September 8th, 2010
8:09 pm
So Marcel Dareus from Alabama takes $2,000 worth of benefits from an agent, including a plane ticket to the agent’s mansion in Miami for a party and gets suspended for two games, but AJ gets four?
5150 P.O.A.D
September 8th, 2010
8:09 pm
AJ you needed to hold out for a Smoley and the Bandit Trans Am Firebird like H. Walker.
IlikeGA
September 8th, 2010
8:10 pm
Alabama…..you fianlly get a coach and pay him more than your state brings in a year and you have two good seasons and Alabama is now a football God. Go shuck some corn you back woods missing teeth country trailer park B@stard. i hate bama fans more than tech fans…….okay it’s a tie!
icedawg
September 8th, 2010
8:10 pm
These guys know the rules. They think that they are the exception. Everyone thinks they are the exception. There will be greater temptations in the future. We’ll see if he learns.
Dawg_Central
September 8th, 2010
8:11 pm
Alabama is a redneck State, with redneck fans, and a “sell your sole to the devil coach”, you have a good football team, but no one gives a crap about Bama except the rednecks that live there…..and thats a freaking ton…..Go Dawgs!!
THUGA FOOTBALL
September 8th, 2010
8:11 pm
IF I go BUY some #8 JERSIES CAN I SELL THEM FOR $1000 a piece !!!
TUCK FECH
September 8th, 2010
8:11 pm
Without AJ.. Dawgs still Beat TECH 30-24 OOOOOO He will be back!!!!
Govols
September 8th, 2010
8:11 pm
Will start the bidding on the number 8 crompton jersey at a 6 pack of natty ice.
HE IS A LIAR!
September 8th, 2010
8:11 pm
DEZ BRYANT LIED TO NCAA AND HE GETS SUSPENDED FOR WHOLE SEASON. AJ ONLY GOT 4 GAMES. UGA FANS SHOULD PRAY TO ALLAH FOR THANKS. AJ GREEN STILL GOING TO HELL REGARDLESS
All American Team
September 8th, 2010
8:12 pm
If AJ is out 4 games this will keep him off the first team All American team and even the all SEC team. That is a shame. It’s is too harsh and I am a SC fan. I am an AC Green fan from his high school days, also.
Man Enough
September 8th, 2010
8:12 pm
This is a joke and so is this blog! Cant post anything worse said than what all the haters are posting but yet mine wont go through? To all you haters posting HA HA comments and whatever, Karma is a B***h. What class!
5150 P.O.A.D
September 8th, 2010
8:13 pm
Gratedudawg it is always better to be the first and start a trend rather to be to busted at the end of a trend. Didn’t your mom teach you anything.
North Georgia Dawg
September 8th, 2010
8:14 pm
We need to find out who the so called agent was and have a public stoning for pre-game/tailgating festivities at the next home game!
Stud
September 8th, 2010
8:16 pm
NCAA violations involving Professional Agents:
College student suffers
College fans and supporters suffer
College institution suffers
Simple Solution:
Ban all NFL agents, representatitives and scouts from campuses / NO COLLEGE PROBLEMS
ONE OR TWO YEARS OF THIS AND THEN AGENTS WHO CHEATED WOULD SUFFER AT THE HANDS OF THE NFL! THEN THE PROBLEM WOULD STOP
Govols
September 8th, 2010
8:16 pm
Hey JB if you got hate in your heart let it out!!!!!!!!!!!
Munson's Toupee
September 8th, 2010
8:16 pm
What Would Damon Do?
Stud
September 8th, 2010
8:18 pm
JB crawl back in your tech dorm
Dawgs-Crews
September 8th, 2010
8:19 pm
Give AJ some slack. He made a mistake true, but how many of us havent ? Maybe he needed the money… We still have to understand that these are basically kids learning to be men. We do have other players on our team, and this should allow them to gel as a team to get the job done. We have lots of talent on this team to be able to win these games that he isnt going to play. Go Dawgs !!!
BIG TECH FAN
September 8th, 2010
8:19 pm
hahahaha…it’s too funny that alabama and georgia fans are calling each other rednecks!!!! it’s a tie between you backward retards!!! but at least Bama won the BCS which is a hellava lot better than winning the SEC! Tech is getting better every year and Georgia peeked in 2007 and has been heading downward ever since!!! allah is great!
Dawg_Central
September 8th, 2010
8:23 pm
I heard Paul Johnson is buying Tech players rings for the win they had last week……..hahaha…..Go Dawgs!!
Sandra
September 8th, 2010
8:23 pm
you would of thought he knew better. I hope this does not hurt his chances when he tries to go Pro.
nashdawg
September 8th, 2010
8:24 pm
Enough already. Geez it is not like the guy held up a store. Someone needs to sue the NCAA thugs. This has gotten out of hand and it needs to stop.
DLG
September 8th, 2010
8:25 pm
As Richt always says in these cases, he made a mistake in judgement. We must recruit idiots because it seems very few have any good judgement.
CDawg
September 8th, 2010
8:25 pm
He should be gone. Period.
col fot
September 8th, 2010
8:27 pm
Thw NCAA is clear example of BS, i guess SABAN is greasing their pockets for his guy to get off with 2 games
Dawg_Central
September 8th, 2010
8:28 pm
Yea….UGA peeked in 2007…….and still continues to kick Tech’s a**…..thats funny……Yea there are redenck UGA fans….I’d rather be a redneck than a pimpled faced geek….Go Dawg!! Going for 9 out of 10 Tech fans……why are you idiots still trying to debate this…….I thought Techies were suppose to be smart, but your an idiot if you think there is even a debate anymore….UGA owns you….live with it!!
Govols
September 8th, 2010
8:29 pm
Hey Dawg fans at least your player made some coin for himself are players just like to beat people up and rob people with pellet guns.
GT BABY
September 8th, 2010
8:29 pm
AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHA