Current:Home > NewsGeorgia football grapples with driving violations, as Kirby Smart says problem isn’t quite solved-LoTradeCoin
Georgia football grapples with driving violations, as Kirby Smart says problem isn’t quite solved
View Date:2024-12-23 16:42:13
DALLAS (AP) — Georgia players who have been arrested or cited for driving violations have been disciplined with suspensions and fines through the collective that provides name, image and likeness payments to the school’s athletes, coach Kirby Smart said Tuesday.
Football players at the school have been involved in 24 driving related violations (DUI, reckless driving or speeding), The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has reported, including a crash that killed a player and a recruiting staffer in January 2023.
“I’ll be the first to admit we haven’t solved that issue,” Smart told a group of reporters before he took the stage at SEC Media Days.
Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash in Jan. 15, 2023, just days after the Bulldogs won the national title game.
Police said LeCroy had a blood-alcohol level more than twice the legal limit and was racing another Georgia player, Jalen Carter, at about 104 mph when the SUV swerved off the road, struck two utility poles and a tree before slamming into another tree on the driver’s side, where both LeCroy and Willock were sitting.
Last week, Georgia linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. was arrested for reckless driving and defensive back Demello Jones was cited for street racing in Athens, Georgia.
On March 24, Athens-Clarke County police arrested running back Trevor Etienne on charges of drunken driving, failure to maintain a lane or improper driving as well as affixing materials that reduce visibility through the windows or windshield.
The DUI charges against Etienne, a transfer from Florida, were dismissed Wednesday during a hearing in Athens-Clarke County Municipal Court when he pleaded no contest to reckless driving, underage possession of alcohol and two other driving offenses.
“The incidents that have been happening off the field are not something we condone,” Smart said. “It’s very unfortunate, ‘disappointing’ I guess is the best word. I always talk about processing outcomes in wins and losses. We try not to base things on outcomes. In this case, the outcomes are very disappointing.”
Georgia announced Tuesday that safety David Daniel-Sisavanh has been dismissed from the team. The senior was charged with reckless driving in Atlanta in February after leading police on a pursuit.
Smart declined to reveal other specific punishments for specific players, but did say that receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint was suspended last season for a traffic violation.
“We don’t talk about the suspensions; we have them,” Smart said. “I think it’s pretty obvious that we’ve done them in the past. You guys know when we do them, but each of those cases are very different, and they’ll be handled in different ways.”
Smart also said players have been fined from the Classic City Collective for breaking the law, which is part of the contract players enter into with the organization. He called the fines substantial, but did not give details.
Smart said the school and program have aggressively tried to address the dangers of not being responsible behind the wheel with players through education, citing 162 instances in which the team has heard from coaches, administrators and speakers.
___
Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
veryGood! (16)
Related
- Sean Diddy Combs' Lawyers File New Motion for Bail, Claiming Evidence Depicts a Consensual Relationship
- Neighborhood Reads lives up to its name by building community in Missouri
- Policy Experts Say the UN Climate Talks Need Reform, but Change Would be Difficult in the Current Political Landscape
- New cancer cases to increase 77% by 2050, WHO estimates
- Shaun White Reveals How He and Fiancée Nina Dobrev Overcome Struggles in Their Relationship
- Virginia music teacher Annie Ray wins 2024 Grammy Music Educator Award
- How Donald Trump went from a diminished ex-president to the GOP’s dominant front-runner
- Biden sets sights on Las Vegas days before Nevada’s primary. He’s also got November on his mind.
- Brian Austin Green Shares Message to Sharna Burgess Amid Ex Megan Fox's Baby News
- Critics see conflict of interest in East Palestine train derailment cleanup: It's like the fox guarding the henhouse
Ranking
- Police identify 7-year-old child killed in North Carolina weekend shooting
- The Rock could face Roman Reigns at WWE WrestleMania and fans aren't happy
- Taking the SAT in March? No need to sharpen a pencil
- Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder, Dionne Warwick rule at pre-Grammy gala hosted by Clive Davis
- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 10: Who will challenge for NFC throne?
- Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi elects its first woman and first Black person as bishop
- Carl Weathers' 5 greatest roles, from 'Rocky' and 'Predator' to 'The Mandalorian'
- Smith-Wade delivers big play on defense, National beats American 16-7 in Senior Bowl
Recommendation
-
Harriet Tubman posthumously named a general in Veterans Day ceremony
-
Jillian Michaels Details the No. 1 Diet Mistake People Make—Other Than Ozempic
-
Denver shooting injures at least 6 people, police say
-
Supreme Court declines to block West Point from considering race in admissions decisions for now
-
Police cruiser strikes and kills a bicyclist pulling a trailer in Vermont
-
Travel-Friendly Water Bottles That Don't Spill, Leak or Get Moldy & Gross
-
The New America’s Team: How the Chiefs have become the new ‘it team’ in professional sports
-
Italian mafia boss who escaped maximum security prison using bed sheets last year is captured on French island