A bonding story

Okay, in just a few short hours the D’Antne Demery mishegas has gone from snarky to sad to just plain weird.

Demery was initially given a distinction of “no bond family violence.” During the 10 a.m. hour on Sunday, an Athens-Clarke County Jail representative confirmed a local judge ordered a bond totaling $1,500 ($1,000 for the simple battery and $500 for the criminal trespass charges) and for Demery to be released only to UGA program coordinator Bryant Gantt. At 12:04 p.m., however, Demery’s jail log was updated to show he could only be released to a woman named Brandi McMaster.

Demery eventually posted bond at 1:03 p.m. Sunday.

It is unknown why Gantt was initially listed as the person for Demery to be released to or why that name was changed on the jail log. The change occurred roughly 15 minutes after The Telegraph called the Athens-Clarke County Jail to inquire why Gantt was the person responsible for Demery following his release. NCAA rules stipulate programs cannot provide free or reduced-cost services to student-athletes and among those would be posting bond.

Right now, Kirby is probably wondering if there’s some way to keep the media from reporting this stuff, too, until he tells them.  In the meantime, it does seem as though there’s been a softening of the relationship between the ACCPD and the Georgia athletic department. Taken together, I’m not sure what it means, but I doubt anyone is gonna take the time to explain it to us.

***********************************************************************

UPDATE:  And that’s that.

Georgia just cut ties with signee D'Antne Demery after yesterday's arrest. pic.twitter.com/d0xdXrH5WC

— David Ching (@ESPNChing) April 23, 2017

***********************************************************************

UPDATE #2:  Back to the jail log, McGarity responds,

Georgia athletics director Greg McGarity stated that Gantt’s name “was included in error and I assure you UGA staff members have not violated any rules related to this incident.”

Which neatly sidesteps the question of whose error, of course.

Advertisement

Let’s play two!

Apparently, almost every human being in the state of Maryland had better things to do yesterday than watch a spring practice game.

https://twitter.com/SBNationCFB/status/856186152352595969

Remember, Jim Delany had to have this program to grow the Big Ten Network with more eyeballs.

Teaching the controversy… or not

An alert reader passed this little nugget on to me:

More than 40 members of the history department objected to administrative interference in Professor Jay Smith’s History 383 course on the history of big-time college sports and the rights of athletes in an open statement sent to the deans of the College of Arts and Sciences Friday.

The faculty said that despite media reports that department chairperson Fitz Brundage made the decision to cancel Smith’s class on his own, they believe Brundage was actually under pressure from the College of Arts and Sciences to prevent students from learning about the University’s recent scandals.

“In the absence of any other credible explanation, we believe that the College took this action to block broader understanding of the recent scandals in UNC’s major intercollegiate athletic programs and other violations of legal, moral, and academic standards in the history of modern college athletics,” they said.

The faculty said Smith is a recognized authority on the subject of his course and was “clearly…singled out for unprecedented and adverse scrutiny.”

Obviously, if there isn’t a class on the subject, then none of the students will ever know it happened.  Sheesh.

You can have my answer now, if you like.

Yesterday brought both good news and bad news for Ken Blankenship, the good being that Kirby Smart finally decided it’s okay to offer a scholarship to a full-term place kicker.

The bad news is that said kicker isn’t Ken’s son.

Georgia picked up a big-time special teams prospect after the G-Day spring game concluded.

Norcross place-kicker Jake Camarda offered his pledge to the Bulldogs after the intrasquad scrimmage concluded. He announced his intention to accept a scholarship offer from Georgia on his personal Twitter account.

Camarda is regarded as the No. 1 place-kicker in the nation, according to the 247Sports.com composite. With inside linebacker Adam Anderson decommitting earlier Saturday, Camarda is now the second prospect in Georgia’s recruiting class of 2018.

Given that there’s also a graduate transfer kicker coming in with a one-year scholly, I don’t think it’s much of a leap to think there’s a no vacancy sign posted at the entrance of the Scholarship Inn now.

Congrats to you, Ken.  You’re the best example of parental involvement since Mitch Mustain’s mom worked her magic.

Welcome back, kid.

I’ve been racking my brain trying to decide if this is a first…

D’Antne Demery, an offensive lineman who signed with Georgia this February, was arrested in Athens on Saturday night.

Demery was charged with criminal trespass and simple battery, both misdemeanors. He was arrested by Athens-Clarke County police. The booking time is listed as 10:52 pm. and he was still in jail as of Sunday morning at 7:10 a.m.

The details of the situation were not immediately available. The jail web site lists “no bail family violence” on its report.

A native of Brunswick, Demery was attending G-Day with other signees and recruits.

… and I’ll be damned if I can come up with a similar incident in the past.

His first day after enrollment ought to be a blast.

And in case you’re wondering —

Unless he was enrolled, this does not quality for #FulmerCup points: https://t.co/NECdvD1oHd

— The Fulmer Cup (@TheFulmerCup) April 23, 2017

**********************************************************************

UPDATE:  Aw, jeez.  Forget what I said about that first day of enrollment.

Brunswick offensive lineman and 2017 Georgia signee D’Antne Demery was arrested Saturday evening on charges of criminal trespassing and simply battery.  On Sunday Dawgs247 was able to obtain a synopsis of the incident through a spokesman for the Athens Clarke-County police that shows why the four-star prospect was detained and now allowed to be released on bond.

On 04/22/17 at approximately 2115 hours, Downtown officers were dispatched to the area of the Waffle House, in reference to a black male choking (strangling) a female. Upon arrival, both individuals had left the area. Moments later, the victim called 911; advising that she wished to press charges against D’Antne Demery for hitting her. Contact was made with the victim in front of Boars Head. She stated that she and Demery got into an argument; he began to get loud, she started to walk off, he told her “walk off again, and Imma show you”. She began to walk away again, at which point, Demery came from behind her; grabbing her on the back of her neck; pushing her against the wall, and also grabbing her by the hair. They were eventually separated by friends. Demery was eventually able to reconnect with the victim, in which he threw her; causing her glasses to fall off, and her phone fell out of her hand; causing it to hit the ground which resulted in a crack to the screen. The victim and Demery are dating and have a one month old child together. They came to Athens to attend the G-Day game. Contact was eventually made with Demery who admitted to having physical contact with the victim. There was also an independent witness who saw the incident take place. The victim advised that Demery has been physically violent with her in the past. They are from Brunswick, Georgia. Demery was placed under arrest for the above charges; placed inside the Transport Van, and transported to the Clarke County Jail without incident

If that’s accurate, it’s hard to believe Demery will ever see the practice field in Athens again.