![]() There are a lot of moving parts involved, and a coach has to balance the severity of the action, the effect (possible or done) to others, the good of the program, and - with NIL now in the picture - the possible legal ramifications that can come as a result of handing down discipline, especially game suspensions. Of all the things a modern-day college football coach has to routinely do, disciplining players for off-field behavior is the hardest and most complicated. Newspapers and journalists present facts, and (sometimes) form an opinion based on those facts. The endgame wasn’t to damage the program or its reputation. Neither Towers nor the AJC are “out to get” Georgia or Kirby Smart. But that doesn’t make it wrong to report it. It should make anyone associated with the program - fan or otherwise - uncomfortable. No Georgia fan should like reading the information contained in Towers’ report. “But look what (name of school) players did” and “Kids do this everywhere” are flaccid and futile arguments that should be below Georgia’s fans. The transgressions of their players should not be a concern to the Bulldog Nation. ![]() It doesn’t matter what goes on in Tuscaloosa, Gainesville, or Knoxville. Maybe shining a little light on this problem is precisely what’s needed. The bottom line is, this report does not paint a flattering picture of how Kirby Smart or the Georgia football program is handling what is clearly a problematic, widespread behavior pattern - behavior, mind you, that has already led to the deaths of one Georgia player and one UGA staffer. Does the Georgia football program have a discipline problem? Now the shoe is on the other foot, and fans from Alabama, Florida, and other rival schools are mocking the Bulldog Nation for wanting to turn a blind eye to facts. The attacks on both the report and on Towers personally are reminiscent of what we’ve seen rival fan bases engage in when a beloved coach or player is perceived as being treated unfairly by the press, and Georgia fans were the first to jump in and troll those rivals. But that doesn’t make it the right thing to do.ĭefending actions that endanger not only the players’ lives but innocent people who find themselves potentially in the paths of those players is not good optics for Georgia or its fanbase.Īlso, the report itself is bringing an issue to light that maybe needs more correction than it’s currently getting.įor all the haters who clearly haven’t read the work of our award-winning investigative team, some of the facts included in the new reporting on UGA football players since 2016 … /ixAmVMZVtS It’s understandable that fans would want to rush to the defense of arguably the best football coach the school may ever see (depending on how things proceed in the future) and to a program that is having unparalleled success compared to its history. The report that caused the big dust-up presented some new facts about off-field issues that have been plaguing Georgia football players, most of them centered around reckless high-speed driving. ![]() If you want to make them rise up and go completely ballistic, then use words like “out of control” or “reckless off-field culture” and watch them swarm like killer bees.Ītlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Chip Towers and the AJC investigative team did both of those things over the weekend, the reaction from Georgia fans was swift, and - in many cases - out of control. ![]() If you want to draw the ire of the Bulldog nation, just say something unflattering about Kirby Smart. Georgia football fans are losing their collective minds over a report shedding negative light on Kirby Smart’s program, but they should be grateful, not bitter.
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