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Kirby Smart issues official statement following Jalen Carter arrest warrant
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Kirby Smart issues official statement following Jalen Carter arrest warrant
Georgia coach Kirby Smart has released a statement following the news that an arrest warrant for Jalen Carter has been issued for reckless driving and racing charges, both misdemeanors, on the night of Jan. 15.
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Tragic on all fronts. Carter has to live with the fact that his actions contributed to the deaths of 2 UGA Dawgs. Sounds like he totally freaked out and fled the scene only to return an hour later. Did he have to drop off other passengers? Two families lost children. UGA can't police players 24/7, but the players need to be put on notice that reckless driving, street racing, DUI's and alcohol/substance abuse and any other run-in with law enforcement will not be tolerated. Youth buys you some excuses but total absolution for just plain **** behavior has to be addressed from day 1 of the recruiting process. Different standards need to apply. If they are going to commit to the G, they must also commit to responsible behavior while representing UGA. There should also be a meeting led by the UGA AD Josh Brooks with all coaches and staff members to review and clearly define all policies and expectations. Failure to do so marks the beginning of what HC Smart feared the most. The age of a mentality of entitlement could be knocking at UGA's door. The sad part is there were most likely other player(s) involved as I do not believe Carter was alone in his vehicle. I admit this is pure speculation on my part. The sad and morbid history of UGA athletes having trouble with the law MUST end. See Bullard and JDJ for the 2 most recent misadventures that I am aware of. Does anyone feel that UGA athletes should not be held to a higher standard if UGA's claim to being an "elite program" has any meaning?
What the heck. Recruiting staff involved in racing? Recruiting staff involved with taking players to **** club? What the heck? Who thought any of this was a good idea? Staff driving drunk? Oh, yeah, there will be lawsuits hitting the college for this one. Because staff was involved. Maybe I am guilty of holding my favorite university in a different light, but I certainly did not think this was going on at UGA. Maybe Auburn or Florida State. Even Florida. Kirby better get control of his players (AND STAFF) and fix this. Not a good look at all. Such needless impact this is having on so many people. Ridiculous. Do better!
Truthteller, it goes on EVERYWHERE!!
Well, just ****!
It's all fun and games, what they see in the movies and play on their video games until reality sets in. "It happens eveywhere is just lame to say."
Remember when your kids argument was everyone was doing it? No parent worth their salt is going to say, "Well ok then, that makes perfect sense, go ahead with your foolhardy plans!?" - LOL
No one "expects" when they drink and drive to kill anyone. And yet tragically it does happen "all the time."
It's one of the most dangerous things a person can do in regards to taking their own life accidentally or the life of some other innocent person. Do lots of people do it? Yeh, but lot's of people do lots of **** stuff.
Throw street racing into the mix with being drunk over twice the legal limit and you have a recipe for disaster.
R_L_R., "If they are going to commit to the G, they must also commit to responsible behavior while representing UGA.", No truer words were ever spoken....being a DAWG and aspiring to become a DGD is not for everyone....it takes character, and personal commitment that most young people don't seem to have at this age. IMO, all of the DAWGS involved were DGD's and even then screw ups/misjudgments take place. I'll continue to pray for the families, friends, brothers and sisters to have strength to deal daily with their loss. I'll pray for Jalen to accept forgiveness and have strength to continue to be the best everyday.....Do It For Dev!
Honestly at a loss here. These kids (and adults) are propped up and deified to the point that they think they’re bulletproof. This is the worst-case for two families, but it could have been so much worse for so many. The scary thing is that there are countless near-misses all the time, behavior that could easily end in tragedy that for one reason or another just seems to “work out”. Praying for a shift of focus and a changed heart for these folks…that it doesn’t take further tragedy to get their attention.
Tragic for sure, but for the grace of God there go an awful lot of us. Some insightful posts on the subject matter and those involved. I say a silent prayer every time my 16 year old gets behind the wheel. We as responsible parents set good examples, limits, reinforcement, yet these type incidents will continue to happen. The world is fraught with dangers, it's a scary time to grow up. I could go on and on, different scenarios, one bad decision in so many arenas can drastically impact the course of your life. We see it every day sadly.
I'm thankful I didn't have to grow up in this time....
At a business conference, and this hit my phone just a bit ago. Literally stunned into silence for a while, and just full of disbelief. I'll let others deal with the woulda, shoulda, coulda, and the ultimate responsibility for all this, but now that we know the REAL details, it is both shocking and even more saddening than the original, already horrific, story in January.
I can only imagine what the families are (yet again) going through, and how hard this will also hit many who were not directly involved, but who will be further devastated that this was WAY beyond just a relatively innocuous "lost control late at night" story that seemed to be implied originally.
Glad the authorities and the university are continuing to dig and get the details right, but it still only makes an already horrible story worse than I had ever expected :(
I'm so saddened and frustrated by what has happened during the off-season.
The accident itself was too unspeakably horrible to place in the same bucket as any of the other behavioral issues.
But the details surrounding that accident -- the fact that a staff member was driving a university rental after drinking heavily, that at least one athlete was allegedly driving just as recklessly, and even that so many other underclassmen were partying at a **** club just before the wreck -- have turned a harsh spotlight toward the program.
Together with Stetson's misbehavior in Dallas, these incidents give an appearance that the university failed to ensure that these young men cared for themselves as they celebrated and released all their stress from the long season.
I still don't think this reflects the way UGA football has handled its responsibility to offer guidance to student athletes. By all accounts up to the championship, Coach Smart has run a tight ship that generally steered athletes in the right direction.
But the wave of behavioral issues following the championship will overshadow all the good work the staff had been doing. Given Kirby's character, I trust that he and AD Brooks will address this "perfect storm" of incidents in an intelligent, sensitive and straightforward manner. But it may be the most difficult challenge he's faced yet as a head coach.
I just echo with all my heart the utter sorrow and broken hearts from all my fellow Dawgs fans here. Everything that should be said, has been said really. Like Y’all I just Pray for these families, and Hope that the total tragedy of this will weigh so heavily on other young people that they won’t make the same bad decisions. I sure can’t judge cause I made many terrible decisions. Just pray and hope for the best. And Try as best you can to offer them wise counsel. In the end though it’s up to them to Accept that wise counsel. 🙏
I hate this tragedy happened to UGA players and staff. All we can do is let the University handled this and prayers for all the families involved. Godspeed! Go Dawgs
Chill with the “Kirby Smart needs to get his program under control” stuff. Remove this one tragic incident and the still unsubstantiated allegations against Adam Anderson last year and you don’t really see a whole lot going on at UGA…. Sure an occasional dope smoker, knuckle headed mischief, DUI or drunk in public; but I’d bet the car that if you took a random sample size of a hundred plus other students and the university you’re gonna run into the same volume (IF NOT MORE) of stuff. Let’s allow our AD and HBC to use this as a coaching/learning opportunity and send thoughts and prayers to all involved.
Tragic on so many levels. I also see plenty of assumptions and innuendo cast about... I agree it doesn't look good from here, and it breaks my heart; but believe we should save conclusions until all facts are assembled and shared publicly. At that point, it might look even worse, who knows. Fortunately (and sadly), there are several witnesses who are surely cooperating, not the least of which includes Ms. Bowles and Mr. McClendon. Prayers for all.
Lol...assumptions and innuendo have become part of the American Media fabric. Social media, just adds gas to the fire.
We live and breath on a 24 hour news cycle. In order to keep the public entertained, a certain amount of speculation is used to fill in blanks, left by missing facts. And, some facts are omitted, to maintain the original narrative. So, take what you hear in the news with a grain of salt.
I suspected there might be a "racing" fad going on in Athens, after the Dumas-Johnson announcement. We did the same thing when I was young, back in the '70's. We stopped, after one our best friends, was nearly killed in a nasty accident, with about 30 spectators in attendance.
Nobody was charged in that incident...but, it didn't matter. We learned our lesson, the hard way. The time for charges and arrests is...BEFORE there's an accident. I'll be willing to bet anything, this has been going on in Athens for quite a while, right under the noses of the Police and University.
Probably, going back to the Pandemic...when our Youth across the U.S. we're rioting, burning, killing, maiming and destroying government and private property...with no repercussions. Kids think they are invincible and above the law....and, rightfully so. That's the visual message that was put out there by the "mostly peaceful protests" over the last few years...by ALL of your favorite News outlets.
I don't know if you all have noticed...but, these sort of shenanigans are going on at the HS and College level, in pockets across the Nation. Maybe it's a cumulative effect of "Lax Parenting", going back to the '60's. Each generation becoming a little more lenient and "accepting". It's hard to tell the Parent from the Child, anymore. Lol
Kirby needs to get a grip on his Program??? LOL. No Sir...you need to get a grip on your kids. By the time Kirby gets em, they should already know right from wrong. It's going on across Georgia, right now....including, at the HS Level. DO something about THAT. Maybe Warlock...I mean Warnock will help...I know Herschel would've.
If we're gonna speculate...I just wonder if Bennett was involved in the Dumas-Johnson or Carter incident. Or, maybe a separate racing incident. A guilty conscience provides it's own justice.
Bottom line is it's not the end of the world...but, the beginning. Now, UGA and Athens Police can put a lock-down on this situation. The only thing they have to worry about is...what will these kids think of "next", to get the ole adrenaline glands pumping. Afterall...that's what being a kid, is all about.
And...there WILL be a "next". Like many parents across the Nation...all we can do is, worry about what we're teaching em and pray that God will watch over them.
My heart goes out to those kids and their Parents...all of them. Unfortunately...or, fortunately, depending on your point of view...we are human...meaning, mistakes and death are inevitable.
God Bless all Georgia Students...no matter the school. 🙏
This entire situation is sad and quite disgusting to me from many aspects.
First, Chandler having a BAC of over twice the legal limit is truly heart-breaking. A 24 year old making a decision like that, to get behind the wheel of a car that has 3 other friends, people that she obviously cherished and cared about and had known for 5 or more years, is explained in so many negative ways and there is no getting around that one decision that cost not only her life but the life of another and possibly the careers of countless others not to mention the sorrow and pain for everyone related to or friends with every single person in that vehicle.. Wreckless, Selfish, Irresponsible, and brazenly immature are just a few words that come to mind. All of the talent that she had that people wrote about and boasted about, her close to 6 figure salary (At the age of 24!!!) as a recruiting analyst and the perks that came with that job, all of the good things that she did and the thousands she influenced on social media at her position with UGA are now completely thrown away and meaningless because she made the conscious decision to consume alcohol to the point of a tipsy or inebriated state and then get behind the wheel of a car with 3 other passengers at the mercy of every decision she makes after turning the keys and putting that vehicle into motion. I will also make the point that the “racing” or driving over 100 mph while clearly drunk are secondary matters that would not be part of this tragedy if not for her decision to drink (enough to have a .19 BAC) and get behind the wheel.
Second, there is a lot of blaming going on with these boards and elsewhere with Jalen Carter’s and Kirby Smart’s name getting thrown around mixed in here and there. A point I want to make about that is a noticeable action I have witnessed with the last 2 generations of young people in our country, me being a Generation Xer. What I have witnessed that is alarming is that in a large majority of cases/ events, I do not see a lot of accountability taking place when people make bad decisions/ selfish and stup1d mistakes. And then the public/ media get ahold of the information and that add to that alarming occurrence by also blaming others or secondary blame depending on their particular worldviews.
Why are we attacking Jalen Carter and/or Kirby Smart? Did those two make the decision for Chandler to drink enough to register 2x the legal limit and also make the decision for her to get behind the wheel and drive Carter’s friends and teammates? Did Chandler “have” to drive over 100mph and “have” to race Carter in a separate vehicle, if in fact that is what occurred?
Why can”t people hold Carter’s feet to the fire with their opinions of the events that happened that evening, once the facts do come out, separate from the tragedy befallen Chandler and Devon Willock? What about the other passengers in the vehicle? What prompted them to get in a vehicle with someone they knew, were drinking with earlier that evening, and let her drive and also not make the 2 second decision to put on their seat belts?
Is anyone accountable on an individual basis anymore for their own actions? There was over 80 football players celebrating with alcohol, probably some drugs, and partying all thru the night that evening. There were over 16 coaches, 12 graduate assistants, 25+ support staff plus another 20+ assistants, not to mention the spouses, girlfriends and boyfriends of those 153 people I just mentioned partying their tails off that evening less than 6 hours after the parade.
There is absolutely no way, no culture stereotype, no rational plan or method of this earth that would have prevented something tragic from happening that evening in Athens with that many people involved, except for MAYBE ONE.:Do not, under any circumstances, get behind the wheel of a car AND/OR get in the car with someone that you know has been drinking. Get on your smartphone, that EVERYONE HAS, and you call an Uber, a friend, a parent, a parent of a friend, a coach that you know doesn’t drink, a staffer that you know doesn’t drink, WHATEVER!
And that ONE thing, that teeny weeny little thing, would have prevented all of the other things that people are slinging around like daggers trying to blame on everyone and everything else, including Jalen Carter possibly being partly responsible because he may have raced with/against the other car that evening while drinking and driving and now may lose millions of dollars in future draft capital on top of the million other tragic things that people lost that tragic night.
I'd also like to point out that Kirby Smart stopped being responsible for these grown people, on January 9th. They are off to the NFL, now. They are former Dawgs as far as the UGA Athletic Department is concerned and free to do as they please....Just to put a little perspective on all this hullabaloo.
Except for Dumas-Johnson. You have to wonder about his judgement...and the judgement of the guys that led him....such as, Quay Walker and Jalen Carter. What's going on with the LBs at UGA? IS Schumann too young to provide the type of leadership these kids need? I don't know...just asking the question.