The Georgia Bulldogs football program under head coach Kirby Smart is facing some heavy criticism this week after a pretty revealing investigative report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The AJC’s report determined that throughout Kirby Smart’s time as the head coach of the Bulldogs, 11 different players remained with the team even after they women reported them for violent encounters to the police, the university, or to both.
As the AJC details, the program rallied around the accused in many cases.
“When a top defensive player was jailed on a rape charge, head coach Kirby Smart let eight players go to court to seek their teammate’s release, the player’s lawyer said. This show of solidarity occurred even though the alleged victim worked part time for the football program,” the AJC reported on Wednesday.
“A player charged with recording a sex act with an unconscious woman remained on the roster for a full season until he transferred. Others have stayed with the team while accused of transgressions that ranged from threatening or attacking their girlfriends to sexual assault.”
The AJC also detailed a previously-unreported incident involving 16-year-old football recruit Jamaal Jarrett, who the team offered a scholarship even though he was arrested for underage drinking and investigated for sexual assault during his time on campus.
The report certainly does not paint Georgia in a good light, and people had plenty to say about it on Twitter.
The AJC has been doing some heavy duty reporting on the Georgia football program and all of it is highly troubling https://t.co/3RNBV0yvVr
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) June 28, 2023
Not good… https://t.co/49DQbCIvJH pic.twitter.com/dh8UrLJR1t
— Nash™️ (@nashvegas__) June 28, 2023
Small piece to a big story but George Pickens reportedly implicated a Georgia teammate in a 2021 rape investigation, then later declined to answer questions from police (with his parents and a UGA football staffer present). He did not respond to the AJC for this article. https://t.co/htyldHtcWW
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) June 28, 2023
The AJC is doing exactly what journalists are supposed to do. There’s always a story and the job of the media is to tell that story.
But you and I both know that #GoDawgs fans are going to hate this because winning over everything is the current motto. https://t.co/iIQiDLTrvp
— Justin Nails (@justinnails) June 28, 2023
And the beat goes on inside the Georgia football world according to Atlanta newspaper probe. https://t.co/YnlsBtAYKH
— Oscar Combs (@wildcatnews) June 28, 2023
Said it months ago that UGA being that close to a major city is why they won’t be able to hide in plain sight like other powerhouses located in college towns. https://t.co/o83DUuEUJN
— Superman works for Baltimore PD (@CountryDumb662) June 28, 2023
For those looking in need of assistance, the National Sexual Assault Hotline can be reached at 1-800-656-4673
[Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
