Weeding them out

The interesting part of this Chip Towers’ piece on Georgia’s drug policy isn’t that the players have no problem with the expectation that they tow toe the line, but, rather, whose line it is they expect to tow toe.

“Whatever the regulations and guidelines at UGA are, basically that’s what we’re going to abide by,” said linebacker Natrez Patrick, a junior who along with teammate Roquan Smith avoided suspension after being accused of smoking pot last fall. “No matter what the laws are, no matter what everybody else thinks, whatever Coach Smart wants in place, that’s what we’re going to abide by, period. Opinions, expectations, they don’t matter. I follow the head man; whatever he wants, that’s how we’re going to do it.”

Said rising senior Lorenzo Carter: “It doesn’t matter what the law is or how we feel about it. We’re identified as Georgia athletes and that comes with certain responsibilities and we’re expected to conduct ourselves accordingly.”

All SEC schools punish their athletes for marijuana use. The majority, however, don’t suspend players for a first offense.

When it comes to drug use, is it Kirby’s world and they’re just living in it, or does Michael Adams’ dead hand still rule?  Towers makes a good point about the fates of Patrick and Smith, but it feels like Ridley’s future will say a lot more about that.  Stay tuned.