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. The full two-paragraph piece is offensive in exactly the same ways.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. It apparently had been pulled down before I checked Rumor Central, though the blurb pointing to it had not. Update 2: Deadspin has posted the Rumor Central piece by Albert Lin that the original blurb linked to. ET, the blurb had been replaced by one reading, " Alabama lineman Douglas found dead in Florida," with the subhead "Alabama offensive tackle Aaron Douglas was found dead in Fernandina Beach, Fla., early Thursday." The headline links to Chris Low's story, which is not behind the Insider paywall. Then, if that screenshot wasn't doctored, they used it to advertise its subscription service? That's just revolting. Yet, ESPN somehow called it an opportunity, an "open door," for the next man on the depth chart. The report is so new, and the news is so fresh, it's possible Douglas' body is still in the place where it was found. It took me a minute to figure out that "LT" in the headline meant "left tackle," not some place or event where Douglas might have been. If Douglas had pulled his hamstring, the treatment would not have looked significantly different. A young man died, and the news is presented as nothing more than an on-field issue, something that affects football games.
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