Caleb King’s status on team unclear after arrest (updated w/ Richt comments)
(Updated 9:10 p.m.)
Two days after Georgia’s football team won its first game in more than a month, the bad news resumed for the Bulldogs: The team had its 11th player arrested this year.
Tailback Caleb King spent about six hours Monday in the Clarke County Jail on a bench warrant issued after he failed to appear in court in Walton County to address a speeding ticket.
By late morning, King was released on $380 bond, which officials said would be used to satisfy the speeding fine. But how the issue will affect his status on the Georgia team remains unclear.
Coach Mark Richt did not make an announcement or meet with reporters Monday. He discussed the issue on his weekly radio show Monday night but did not say what action he will take.
“Getting a speeding ticket, not paying it and not showing up for a court date is certainly not a very responsible thing, but I can’t say it’s some kind of awful act that we all should just be ashamed of,” Richt said. “But certainly … all of these young men have to understand they have a responsibility to take care of whatever issue they have.
“If they have a ticket, they need to pay it. If they don’t [pay it], they need to show up for the court date. Those things are certainly obvious, and we have to get better at those kinds of things.”
Later, Richt referred to the King situation when asked if freshman running back Ken Malcome might play for the first time.
“There’s a good chance that happens,” Richt said. “We’re not saying for 100 percent certain he will, but the situation that Caleb has gotten himself into and the fact that [tailback] Carlton Thomas’ hamstring may or may not be ready by the end of the week, it may be that Ken has to play.”
To another caller who said he hopes King is not kicked off the team, Richt replied: “We’re just going to do what we feel like is the right thing to do. Bottom line is, we’ve got to make sure everybody takes care of business.”
Of the 10 players previously arrested this year, Richt dismissed four from the team and, in most of the other cases, issued suspensions of at least one game. King’s is the first case involving failure to appear in court for a speeding ticket.
King was arrested by Athens-Clarke County Police after his brother, Brandon King, was pulled over in east Athens around 4 a.m. Monday for driving without a working tag light, according to police spokeswoman Hilda Sorrow. The stop of Brandon King triggered a series of events that led to the discovery of the outstanding warrant for his brother.
First, Brandon King, 23, was placed under arrest when it was determined he was driving with a suspended license, police said. Then, officers asked Brandon King to call the owner of the vehicle he was driving, a 1996 Ford Explorer, and have it picked up.
The vehicle’s owner, Georgia football player Brandon Wood, arrived at the scene five minutes later and was accompanied by Caleb King, according to police. Officers checked the two players’ licenses and discovered the outstanding warrant from nearby Walton County for Caleb King’s arrest. He was booked into the Clarke County Jail shortly after 5 a.m.
Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman said the warrant had been issued by a judge after King, 22, failed to pay a fine or appear in court in connection with a speeding ticket this past summer.
King received a citation June 20 for driving 76 miles per hour in a 55-mph zone on Highway 78, Chapman said. The warrant was issued by a judge after King failed to appear for an Aug. 6 court date.
King was released on bond from the Clarke County Jail at 10:45 a.m. Monday. His $380 bond will be used to pay the speeding ticket, an official with the Walton County Sheriff’s Department said.
Two players said King participated in Georgia’s practice Monday evening.
King’s arrest was the second of a football player since UGA President Michael Adams last month called on the athletics department to deal with the proliferation of arrests.
“We have had too much in the football team,” Adams said in a Sept. 18 interview. “And so we expect the coaches and the AD’s to provide role models and leadership for their players, and I told the whole Athletic Association that” in an early-September staff meeting.
King’s arrest was his second since joining the Georgia program. In 2007, he was arrested by UGA Police for driving a motor-scooter with a suspended license and going the wrong way on a one-way street.
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923 comments Add your comment
Police Chief
October 11th, 2010
8:16 pm
Clean House dude you are so lost?
The Big House
October 11th, 2010
8:16 pm
Shoot y’all, it’s all good! One mo’ arrest and we got an even dozen!
SRS
October 11th, 2010
8:16 pm
He’s a college football player, not a truck driver. Most companies could care less if one of their employees failed to appear in court for a traffic violation. Let’s not get carried away here. Caleb was incredibly irresponsible and should be punished, but let’s not act like he’s Brett Favre–running around sending picture of junk to women other than his wife–meanwhile is actual wife is at home battling cancer.
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:17 pm
There may be a moral clause in your contract but I doubt it would not be renewed if you were arrested for failure to appear for a speeding ticket. Every keeps talking about Richt saying no more arrest but this happened back in august, if his court date was on the 5 of august, no matter what he would have been arrested any day after that, even if he paid the fine.
Dorsey Hill
October 11th, 2010
8:17 pm
munsondawg,
Yeah and you’d tell them your sorry and you took care of it and that would be that. Your life is not getting ruined over this sort of thing. You could be in the NSA with the highest National Security Clearance on the planet and you’d slide through this.
The oleball coach
October 11th, 2010
8:17 pm
This arrest is much worse than Tennessee thugs under age drinking, asaulting a police officer, and a fat guy while accepting gratitudes from bar knoxville……-
Mel must be a techie. let put all who have speeing tickets in the electric chair….
Clean House
October 11th, 2010
8:18 pm
munsondawg… you cant reason with the morons taking up for a moron. They refuse to see trends ,patterns and all they know is to use excuses because they have no respect for rules themselves.
Police Chief
October 11th, 2010
8:19 pm
Clean House
October 11th, 2010
8:18 pm
munsondawg… you cant reason with the morons taking up for a moron. They refuse to see trends ,patterns and all they know is to use excuses because they have no respect for rules themselves
From one moron to another, you guys both are lost
PappyHappy
October 11th, 2010
8:20 pm
This is so typical of Richt! His players know they can get by with just about anything! If it has taken this guy this long, he has some serious character issues …….HIMSELF!
BYE-BYE donations until Dr. Adams gets his act cleaned up. I am really becoming ashamed of the nation’s top ‘PARTY SCHOOL’!! Would you want your child or grand child caught up in this sort of garbage?? A sad state, and we as taxpayers are underwriting this corruption of morals!
Problem Solved
October 11th, 2010
8:20 pm
Seriously, hire a secretary who does nothing but track dates and issues reminders. After that, if they screw up, kick ‘em off the team.
Delbert D.
October 11th, 2010
8:20 pm
@Problem Solved
“Don’t tell me that Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Knoxville, and Auburn have the same types that Athens has.”
Okay, then, I won’t tell you that Gainesville, Knoxville and Auburn have the same types that Athens has. Satisfied? Think that one through again.
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:20 pm
munsondawg, hum is that why the athens paper was sucking for a while. Well tell your cousin, Officer. Whatever his name in athens, to work on busting more of the METH suppliers over there and leave the football players alone unless truely warranted.
Coffee Bluff DAWG
October 11th, 2010
8:21 pm
He made a 20 yr old mistake – speeding and then compounded the mistake, by probably, his inability to pay.
Don’t make this out to be a crimminal offense. If suspension is warranted it’s likely 1 game – end of story.
Clean House
October 11th, 2010
8:21 pm
scotlarock….. has it occurred to your pea brain that Mr. King has had ample time to notify his coaches about the unpaid ticket after all that has transpired?
Tired
October 11th, 2010
8:21 pm
Clean House is the biggest loser ever
munsondawg
October 11th, 2010
8:22 pm
Dorsey,
Everybody makes choices. Some good, some bad. Caleb already had 1 chance. Now you want him to have another? If you say so…. If I was the coach, I know my decision. Mark Richt should be thinking “Fool me once………….”
Clean House
October 11th, 2010
8:24 pm
Im a loser BWAHHHHHH…..
Clean House
October 11th, 2010
8:25 pm
Looks like Caleb King is the real Loser…..
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:26 pm
Clean house, I will put my record against your record any day, I have a top secret clearance, so having respect for the rules is not an issue, but right is right, Caleb messed up, got a speeding ticket and made it worse by not going to court or paying it, but to throw his career down the tubes because of it is kind of well STUPID. DUI yes can see it and will agree he need to be kicked off but failure to appear over a speeding no.
J W
October 11th, 2010
8:27 pm
Three questions arise: (1) why didn’t he make initial court appearance, (2) why wasn’t someone from the athletic department assigned to make sure he made initial court appearance, and perhaps now I’d be inclined to open investigation as to (3) how he came up with $380 dollars to now settle the fines? If he’d paid it in July, it may have only been $75.
Call in show....
October 11th, 2010
8:28 pm
In case you aren’t listening richt just said something to the effect that not paying a traffic ticket is not that big of deal then something like we need to teach them to be more responsible. I see a light punishment in the future…
crabapplejoe
October 11th, 2010
8:31 pm
@Delbert D who wrote: “Chapas at tailback, Munzenmaier at fullback. No more missed blocks.”
Man, I like that idea…in addition to the no more missed blocks, UGA might actually get some production out of the RB position….and think, no more fumbles on the goal line. Look what happened when Denver/Cleveland let Peyton Hillis run the ball instead of block…..free at last, free at last let the boys tote the rock
munsondawg
October 11th, 2010
8:32 pm
If that’s the case, I’ll find something better to spend my money on next fall. Goodbye $5k yr./ donation. Mark Richt & Co. will lose more and more contributors if they allow foolishness.
guy
October 11th, 2010
8:33 pm
He should have already been served for not appearing in the summer.Then all of this would have been over.These young men better wake up because football will be over soon.Grow up!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THWG!!
October 11th, 2010
8:34 pm
Richt can’t control his thug players. Ha Ha Ha Ha
Clean House
October 11th, 2010
8:34 pm
Scotlarock…… He got ARRESTED! GET IT ??????? I could care less if it was for jay walking at this juncture. It is a distraction, he was irresponsible, he has embarrassed the university and football program. His azz should be kicked off team and let these players know once again Cow Horns Hook…
UGAVII
October 11th, 2010
8:35 pm
Lord I should have gone to Georgia Tech.
Paul Johnson is a man, Georgia needs a man not a bunch of panty wearing, taning salon thugs.
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:35 pm
HaHa munsondawg, goodbye. You think your low donation of 5k is going to allow you to tell the coach who stays and who goes. Dude this is not the 50s.
Delbert D.
October 11th, 2010
8:37 pm
crabapplejoe – Yeah, find out which one can do the Hollins hurdle, and play him at tailback. Both of those guys have good hands. Imagine Munzenmaier blocking for Chapas on a fullback lead. Imagine both of them chipping the pass rushers (more like pancaking, rather than chipping with those guys) on straight pass plays.
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:37 pm
Yes Clean house he got arrested for failure to appear for a speeding ticket, not DUI, not hit and run, a speeding ticket which he was allowed to promply pay and leave, he dos not even have to go to the walton county courts in the future for this, it’s over now…
munsondawg
October 11th, 2010
8:38 pm
Guess what scott,
Add up enough of those donations and then look around the stadium and when you can see metal bleachers and not bodies the UGA admin. will take notice.. Do you contribute? Have you for over 15 yrs? Do you go to road games? Did you see the empty stands this past weekend?
11 Arrests 2 Wins
October 11th, 2010
8:38 pm
No news here. Same ol GA. Since he’s a starter, probably will sit out 1 series with Idaho State.
Delbert D.
October 11th, 2010
8:39 pm
I guess my daily checklist suggestion for the players got censored. It shouldn’t have.
Fair and Balanced
October 11th, 2010
8:39 pm
It’s pretty obvious isn’t it – GA players are not smart. You just cant cure stupid!
georgytech
October 11th, 2010
8:39 pm
Dorsey Hill ”’Obama used cocaine, pot, alcohol just as W did, only difference is W b ecame a succesful businessman while Prezbo became a community organizer (see DREAMS OF MY FATHER for reference). But back to the issue King should be disciplined in some manner, his record shows contempt or at the very least total disregard for traffic laws( wrong wayh on a one way street with suspended license previously), a pattern it seems. He needs to learn for his own sake that there are sometimes severe consequences for immature behavior. Losing his position on a college football team does not mean the end of the world for him if that does happen. He is the one that will determine his life’s directions by his actions.
It seems like many athletes he has been failed by adults in his past that allowed him to avoid penalties for failures in academics.
Vick=Dog killing Thug
October 11th, 2010
8:42 pm
no story here… no suspension. Extra running and maybe some community service. This is nothing
kennedy
October 11th, 2010
8:43 pm
In Cobb County, if you forget to pay ur speeding fine, you dont get a warrant for ur arrest, they just send you a letter in da mail telling you that your license is suspended. We are talking bout a speeding ticket guys, A SPEEDING ticket!! What was so wrong with the police calling the head coach or position coach and having all this avoid, time wasted, along with my tax dollars wasted
Lee
October 11th, 2010
8:44 pm
There is really no excuse for King to ignore paying the speeding ticket. I’m sure that Richt and the coaches laid down the law [pardon the pun] with the players this summer after the rash of GA players getting arrested.
Most counties just don’t issue a bench warrant for failure to appear for a traffic citation. If you don’t show, you usually get a letter in the mail telling you that a warrant for your arrest is imminent if you don’t take care of the citation.
In all probablity, King ignored the traffic citation, ignored the warnings from his coaches, and ignored a warning letter from the court.
The dumb idiot deserves to get kicked off the team.
Ron
October 11th, 2010
8:44 pm
Take from me, the Clarke County Police do not seem to perform when there are real crimes. My business has been broken into a number of times over the years. It is very easy to see from the road. They never saw anything, caught anyone, I mean nothing. The wheels & tires were stolen off one car sitting right by the road—-twice. I can assure you that they don’t like poking around in the dark where there might possibly be something dangerous going on. Traffic stops are pretty safe, 99% of the time.
Problem Solved
October 11th, 2010
8:45 pm
Delbert D.
In response to your “Okay, then, I won’t tell you that Gainesville, Knoxville and Auburn have the same types that Athens has. Satisfied? Think that one through again.”…..
When you take a sentence out of context, it sure works for ya, doesn’t it.
If you read the entire sentence, you would see that the preceding article meant that “the same types” referred to the police, not the players. “Yes, it’s pathetic, but as long as the city of Athens allows the Gomer and Barney to patrol, what choice do we have? Don’t tell me that Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, Knoxville, and Auburn have the same types that Athens has.
Nitpicker. Hmmmmmm. Are you an Athens cop and did I touch a nerve?
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:46 pm
munsondawg , not everyone that contributes think like you, the reason why the empty stands is because of the record, I guarantee you that if we were undefeated and caleb had stats of 150 yards a game, this would not be an issue, and yes I contribute, I just don’t cry about it, don’t do it if you don’t want to, there is a lot more going on with UGA than football.
Delbert D.
October 11th, 2010
8:46 pm
“What was so wrong with the police calling the head coach or position coach”
That’s not part of their job. Executing warrants is.
judge
October 11th, 2010
8:47 pm
from what I understand its not a big deal—its just a small fine—-300plus dollars———no biggy—–Richt should sit him out of the Vandy game and play him some in the Kentucky game to keep him warmed up—and then let him start the Fla game—–lets dont lose our minds over this at this point———all bets are off until the end of the season—and I am sure more will be revealed at that point—
Problem Solved
October 11th, 2010
8:48 pm
Me thinks Delbert D. is in law enforcement.
Imma Dumbgafan
October 11th, 2010
8:50 pm
They are just pickin on our football playuhs…it’s not fair…they are as pure as the driven snow…what was so so wrong with the police calling the head coach and brushing this under the rug…they are our PLAYUHS…it would be okay if it was just a “regular” student, but, we have to wind football games….I mean, it’s not like this is a place for academics! We MUST win football games. Regular “students’–hey, lock em up! Our playuhs are there for one thing, and one thing only—FOOTBALL!!! Leave them alone!!
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:51 pm
georgytech, really, you are going there, W was no businessman, he failed at all of his businesses, only difference is his father bailed him out, not to mention the reason he got in Yale, he pretty much failed out in college too.
Obama didn’t see dollar signs when he graduated from college as Bush did. Don’t compare the two, really don’t do it, we know who the smarter of the two are.
dagnabit
October 11th, 2010
8:52 pm
A hit-n-run DUI is not a misdemeanor. An assault on a woman is not Misdemeanor. The JOKE is DAWGINMEMPHIS.
scottlarock
October 11th, 2010
8:53 pm
Imma Dumbgafan
October 11th, 2010
8:50 pm
They are just pickin on our football playuhs…it’s not fair…they are as pure as the driven snow…what was so so wrong with the police calling the head coach and brushing this under the rug…they are our PLAYUHS…it would be okay if it was just a “regular” student, but, we have to wind football games….I mean, it’s not like this is a place for academics! We MUST win football games. Regular “students’–hey, lock em up! Our playuhs are there for one thing, and one thing only—FOOTBALL!!! Leave them alone!!
I bet they would pick up the phone to call the chief of police or the mayor that their son or daughter was about to be arrested.
Clean House
October 11th, 2010
8:53 pm
Scotlarock…….. his speeding ticket was for doing 21 miles an hour over the speed limit. Thats considered reckless driving. This also demonstrates his complete disregard for the law. It is a serious matter whether you and others agree or not. Boy do the Insurance Companies love those Statistics so they can set those rates for good drivers….
Thuga
October 11th, 2010
8:54 pm
You boys are funny! Last week we all wanted to dismantle the coaches and team and they win one game and now everything is off limits. Good thing the big T self destructed for us. The poor little babies, they can’t be required to remember things that are not important…like going to court. They are just children, that is until they get to the field and then they are SUPERMEN!!! Leaping tall linemen in a single bound, crashing through linebackers…and remembering the offensive play book which I assume is done in cartoon characters to assist the little ones in remembering what is going on. If you can’t take care of business in life, you have no business on the field (unless you are a special little bullpup) If they can’t handle their business then they should change the name to the BULLPUPS!
No Excuses! You don’t have to kick him off the team, just let him start over at the waterboy position and work his way back up.
The proud fans will not stand for it…we need him to help our team so we won’t stink. I think the average blogging fan would be just like CMR and give them a slap on the wrist and let them go to preserve just one more win. It’s a sellout, I know because I’m THUGA!