NCAA rejects appeal of A.J. Green suspension (updated)
(Last updated 10:15 p.m.)
Georgia will have to play without star wide receiver A.J. Green for two more games, including Saturday’s against Arkansas in Sanford Stadium.
An NCAA committee Friday rejected Georgia’s appeal of the four-game suspension handed Green last week for selling his Independence Bowl jersey for $1,000 to a person the NCAA considers an agent.
Georgia had hoped to have the suspension shortened, but the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Reinstatement Committee, after hearing the appeal by conference call Friday morning, informed UGA officials late in the day that the original penalty will stand.
That means Green, who sat out Georgia’s first two games, will remain sidelined for the crucial game against No. 12 Arkansas and the Sept. 25 game at Mississippi State. He’ll be eligible to return for the Oct. 2 game at Colorado.
While the original suspension was imposed by NCAA staff, the appeal was heard by a committee consisting of officials from colleges and conferences across the country. The committee rejected Georgia’s appeal without public comment. The ruling was disclosed by UGA on Friday evening.
“We respect the committee’s decision and will focus on moving forward,” athletic director Greg McGarity said in a statement.
The NCAA’s investigation of Green, a junior who is widely projected as a high NFL draft pick if he turns pro next year, began in July as part of a series of probes at a number of schools into dealings between football players and agents.
The NCAA said last week that “according to the facts of the case submitted by Georgia,” Green sold the jersey to “an individual who meets the NCAA definition of an agent,” later identified as former North Carolina football player Chris Hawkins.
The NCAA defines an agent as “any individual who markets or promotes a student-athlete.” Hawkins has denied being an agent. It also would be against NCAA rules for a student-athlete to sell memorabilia to a non-agent.
Georgia has declined to release the “facts of the case” or other related documents. In response to an open-records request from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, UGA said it would not release the documents because doing so “would directly identify one particular student,” Green. The university said that would violate a federal law protecting student education records, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Green’s four-game suspension has drawn criticism from some Georgia fans because of another recent case in which Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus received a two-game suspension for accepting about $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.”
Another recent case, involving Middle Tennessee State quarterback Dwight Dasher, resulted in the same penalty as Green’s. The NCAA on Thursday suspended Dasher for four games for accepting $1,500 in “an impermissible loan from an individual in the community.”
Asked for comment on Friday’s ruling and the reason the appeal was denied, NCAA associate director of public and media relations Stacey Osburn said by e-mail “we do not have any further to share” beyond confirming the decision.
Georgia coach Mark Richt had held out hope that the appeal might put Green back on the field for Saturday’s game, but Richt said several times this week that the coaches were preparing the game plan on the premise that Green would not be available.
In a statement after Friday’s ruling, Richt said: “Our concentration is the same as the last two weeks, which is preparing for the next game. We’ll look forward to A.J.’s return for the Colorado game on Oct. 2.”
Green, who can continue to practice with the team during the suspension, was not available for comment.
His teammates were hoping for, but not necessarily expecting, good news on the appeal.
“It’s not something you can bank on because you never know,” tight end Aron White said at mid-week. “We’ve been preparing to where if he comes back great but if he doesn’t we’ve got to still go out and get these games. We’re still the Bulldogs, with or without A.J.”
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704 comments Add your comment
Razorback BBQ plate
September 17th, 2010
7:16 pm
Georgia needs to move on and forget about A.J. Green.
NerdCentral@NorthAve
September 17th, 2010
7:17 pm
Thanks, Tombo. As much as I hate your school, I can’t help but like CMR. He’s a really great guy. I’ve met him in person. If only the players were devoted to him the way he is devoted to his players. You would have won 2 national titles by now.
Frank
September 17th, 2010
7:17 pm
UGA Student – you can’t really be affiliated with UGA, UGA fans know that was Alexander (Zander) Ogletree in the 1st game. You are simply a pot stirrer like nerdcentral above.
THWGT
76-Dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:18 pm
Green shouldn’t have gotten his sentence reduced. He missed ,what 3 or 4 games at the end of last year and the first 4 games this year. What a roll model for the younger players. He will be gone next year making 30 million over 4 years. If it was up to me he would never play another down for UGA.
The NCAA probably left the penalty like it was because they didn’t believe Green didn’t have something to hide.
Why would Green even talked to a shyster , hustler, low life like Chris Hawkins. Green must have really thought he was a big man when Hawkins , America’s number one roll model , payed him attention.
Billy Jack could fight @ Delbert D.
September 17th, 2010
7:18 pm
I got a “C” in History…but I love Native Americans….please define Totalitarianism…I like your posts and I’m not looking for a fight…just need clarification on that word..
RealDawg
September 17th, 2010
7:18 pm
Thanks NCAA. AJ and Arkansas are the only ones NOT getting punished. The team, the fans, even Russ all get punished while AJ will be just fine. The rest of us are the ones that have to suffer. I cannot sit through another USC game then listen to our receives talking about how they aren’t as good as AJ. Man friggin up.
NORRIS
September 17th, 2010
7:18 pm
whether you are a UGA fan or not you should still see that this ruling is not consistent across the board with the other players. NCAA is unethical.
Boss Hog
September 17th, 2010
7:19 pm
David Granger
Dareus admitted it to the NCAA and didn’t lie like AJ.
the bitter truth
September 17th, 2010
7:20 pm
the players are unethical and expect it to be washed over because of who they are. across the board penalties would not be fair either. do the crime, do the time. maybe green can help out at games paintin little doggies on bald heads….
Die-Hard UGA Fan
September 17th, 2010
7:20 pm
76-Dawg: Spot on. Again; anybody actually see a jersey? FROM A COKE TRAFFICKER? Snort.
crabapplejoe
September 17th, 2010
7:21 pm
Lordy, Lordy the sky is falling….Georgia won’t have the services for two more games of an over-hyped WR who will never have a 1000 yard receiving season in his collegiate career…geez people the Dawgs have other wide receivers who can catch the ball.
Eaassyy
September 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
i love all the techies talking smack. simply hilarious. how do you think your weak and pathetic team is going to look against a UNC team that has two weeks to prepare for the “perfect option?” think way back to LSU in your back yard then to Miami last year for an answer to that question. MOOBS is in trouble. keep reveling in a kid getting suspended for selling a jersey while your team and conference is the laughing stock of the nation.
Petrino
September 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
Thank you NCAA.
Frank
September 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
So Boss Hog, you were sitting in on the NCAA hearing and heard AJ? Of course then you were able to investigate the testimony and prove it false. You are a tool!!!!!
thwgt
Michael in Decatur
September 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
I’d be more impressed with McGarity if he fired all his lawyers and filed a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA. Where is the due process? What evidence does the NCAA that this character that bought the jersey is an agent. Come on McGarity, show some b*lls and stand up for UGA and student-athletes!!!!
CobbGOPer
September 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
As for the harshness of the suspension compared to others: I think perhaps when he was initially questioned about it, AJ must have lied to the investigators, whereas the others maybe came right out and admitted it. That’s the only thing I can think of as to why he’d get four games as opposed to less, as well as why his appeal was denied. If he hadn’t lied, it might have been one or two games and no harm done.
North Georgia Dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
Ironwood = Peckerwood
confused
September 17th, 2010
7:22 pm
To the UGA fans complaining about the Bama player, his mother had just died and his friend suggested a trip to Miami to get a change of scenery and paid for the plane ticket and split the room with him. When Dareous found out it was an agent party, he left and immediately reported it to his coach. Didn’t intentionally take benefits – AJ did. That’s the difference.
Petrino
September 17th, 2010
7:23 pm
Thank you NCAA no matter how wrong your are.
the bitter truth
September 17th, 2010
7:24 pm
i’m from the ncaa…and i’m here to help…..
UGA Alum
September 17th, 2010
7:24 pm
With or without Green UGA needs to take care of business tomorrow and play up to there potential. Arkansas might have Mallet but he plays poorly on the road and GA has much more overall depth. The O-line needs to man up tomorrow and play up to there potential so we can just run it down there throats with Ealey and King.
aladawg
September 17th, 2010
7:24 pm
Hey AJ tell the NCAA and UGA to kiss your a– you know that you will be a first round draft choice in April 2011.
Steve "The King" Spurrier
September 17th, 2010
7:25 pm
We have an off week coming up if the Georgia State Champs would like to return to Columbia. Losers!!
crabapplejoe
September 17th, 2010
7:25 pm
Instead of worrying about Green’s demise, Dawg fans should be worrying about what Ryan Mallett is going to do to those overrated “four star” defensive backs that Georgia has floating around on defense.
PTC DAWG
September 17th, 2010
7:25 pm
All the while, Jersey’s for sale in the bookstore.
wpww dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:25 pm
sure pay the players. and when they graduate or leave school give the big a$$ bill for 4 years of room, board,tuition, and food!
Dawg'em out!
September 17th, 2010
7:26 pm
georgia has the playmakers to make it happen w/o green IMO, its the fact that the o-line and offense calls havent been up to par!
Reggie Bush
September 17th, 2010
7:26 pm
“Whatever the NCAA has, whatever programs they have, aren’t working and it needs to be changed. If it’s not changed, it’s going to continue and it hasn’t stopped yet,” Bush said. “It’s going to continue year after year after year and you’re going to see kids be ineligible. You’re going to see great athletes missing their junior and senior year and seasons because the system doesn’t work.
“Obviously something has to be changed. You’ve got universities making millions of dollars off these kids and they don’t get paid. The majority of college athletes who come in on scholarship come in [with] nothing. That’s where you have a problem. You’re making all this money off these kids and you’re giving them crumbs and then you’re surrounding these kids with money and telling them not to touch it,” he said.
scdawgfan
September 17th, 2010
7:26 pm
FEEL FREE TO CONTACT!!!!!!!!!! THIS HAS TO STOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The National Collegiate Athletic Association
700 W. Washington Street
P.O. Box 6222
Indianapolis, Indiana 46206-6222
Phone: 317/917-6222
Fax: 317/917-6888
old dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:27 pm
I cant beleive the nerds that come on here still spewing 45-42 . Dont they know there was a game last year?
MaconSportsFan
September 17th, 2010
7:27 pm
Here is the reason that the suspension was upheld for AJ Green.
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The reason the Alabama player got less time, and Florida players get a pass. The NCAA gets more $$$ from Alabama and Florida, and Saban and Meyer are hooked up with the NCAA, just like USC was for years until the Reggie Bush fiasco…………
Do you really think USC would have been punished for violations if it had not got in the public media about Reggie Bush?? I dont think so lol
Real reason AJ is punished more games is to set an example for any player who might take revenue away from the NCAA from the sales of Jerseys etc.
NCAA is just like the American Government corrupt over $$$$$$$$$$$$
the bitter truth
September 17th, 2010
7:28 pm
the only thing worse than a bad apple athlete crying is all the fans who live vicariously through the sports teams of college institutions. win or lose, i still have to go to work on monday. you think those players actually care what you think?
Dawgs Tell
September 17th, 2010
7:28 pm
Maybe there’s more to the story than being told. Believe me if the A.D. and the front office of the SEC even thought that there ruling was not consistent with other player’s; legal action would take place immediately.Again there is more to the story than being told by all parties. We will here the whole story when A.J. leaves UGA for the NFL.
Eaassyy
September 17th, 2010
7:28 pm
crabapple, our pass defense is ranked top in the nation thus far. i know its early but that doesnt change the fact you’re still an idiot.
North Georgia Dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:29 pm
I have a question… why can’t one of you sorry sports journalists get the real truth behind what really happened with Aj, the jersey and Hawkins. Quit posting the same thing that everyone else posts and do some actual investigating. It would be nice to the whole truth. I would also like to know who was on this committee that made the decision to deny the appeal. They need to be able to be accountable for their decision…. If Aj lied or misled officials during the investiagtions then he is getting what he deserves. If nothing more than a jersey sale took place, then shame on the NCAA. I won’t forget it…
Eaassyy
September 17th, 2010
7:29 pm
one of the top in the nation. not top.
UGA Alum
September 17th, 2010
7:30 pm
Arkansas’s schedule thus far is a joke and Mallet has already thrown 2 INT’s. His completion % last year at home was 60 something % and on the road 30 something %. UGA will get pressure on Mallet tomorrow and he will throw a couple up for UGA’s Def. backs. UGA 34 ARK 17
jeff
September 17th, 2010
7:30 pm
Proves the NCAA has double standards….one for Alabama and one for rest…..I am thru with college football…between the ncaa and sec officials it makes me want to throw up.
Bremen Dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:31 pm
I still say that the NCAA made an example out of AJ because of his future NFL career.
old dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:32 pm
And another thing there is a good chance AJ will be back for his senior year if the NFL has the lockout
Bremen Dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:33 pm
Hey North Georgia, AJ never lied, all he ever said was that he was not if Miami. He never said anything about the jersey.
TheTaxJacket
September 17th, 2010
7:33 pm
AJ GREED was not forthcoming with NCAA investigators!! He’s lucky he wasn’t suspended for the whole year like DEZMOND BRYANT. It has nothing to do with conspiracies you tin-foil hat wearers!!!!
Glory, glory to the Jackets, their truth is marching on!!!!!
TML
September 17th, 2010
7:34 pm
Listen Muttlanders, the reason why Dareus got just 2 games and AJ Greenbacks got 4 is because Alabama SELF-REPORTED the infraction. When you approach the NCAA FIRST and tell them what happened and they investigate and find nothing else, you get the 2 game suspension. But when one of your players, (1) turns up in rumors about a Miami agent party, and then (2) shouts to the heavens that ‘I was never in Miami’, he didn’t tell the WHOLE story about what he might’ve been involved in. EVERYONE knows when the NCAA comes to your campus, they don’t just limit their investigation to the issue at hand. If they find ANYTHING else, they will bust you for it – this isn’t the legal system you’re dealing with and the NCAA is not bound to look into only the issue at hand.
When you cry innocence on one hand but the other hand is even slightly dirty – and the NCAA finds out about it ***without you [thUGA] coming to them about it from the jump***, you ask for 4 games. Add to this that the WHOLE REASON why the NCAA has a rule against sales of memorabilia happened because of ug[sic]a, what do you expect??? Stop whining and learn not to rely on just one player to win!
Richt = Bobby Bowden…except Bobby got much better talent than Richt can get now with Alabama, LSU, Florida, Miami, etc., drawing from the pool. He’s too lenient. He’ll win you 8-9 games a year, but he’s not gonna win you a national title. Wake up from your doggy dreams and accept the truth.
Billy Jack could fight @ old dawg
September 17th, 2010
7:34 pm
I hate unions….and I hope you are wrong….Gordon Gecko was right..”unions are killers”….
Leroy Farted
September 17th, 2010
7:34 pm
The guy who bought the jersey was ROBBED…. The jersey isn’t worth fifty cents.
Mike
September 17th, 2010
7:36 pm
AJ let his team mates down they should ask saint Mark to not let him back on the team how can u win with a cheat like him i been a uga fan all my life some where we need to get some backbone and thrown these thugs off the team i rather go 7-6 .
icedawg
September 17th, 2010
7:36 pm
Bunch of cry baby whingers. Excuses. Listen, wasn’t Green injured a good portion of last year? There’s no guarantee that he would be playing anyway because he is injury prone. He’s probably going to jump ship after this year anyway. Dawgs must play on without him and not look back. If he comes in later and contributes something, fine, if not, no big deal.
SLim
September 17th, 2010
7:36 pm
And the meltdown has begun….Georgia will win no more than 4 games this year.
TheTaxJacket
September 17th, 2010
7:37 pm
If anything we should be wondering why DEZMOND BRYANT gets suspended for an entire season while AJ GREED only gets FOUR GAMES!
How do you like that for a DOUBLE STANDARD?!?!?
Steve "The King" Spurrier
September 17th, 2010
7:37 pm
Unfortunately, South Carolina still has a lot to prove this year. Let’s face the facts, Georgia hasn’t been a first tier SEC football team in a couple of decades. Florida, Bama and LSU are the SEC’s true national powers.