If this saves Riley Ridley from a one-game suspension, then we can say the Georgia Way has been Processed in at least one way.
“I would hope they would look favorably upon the fact that he is receiving a pre-trial diversion agreement.”
Filed under Crime and Punishment, Georgia Football
Get The Picture 
that’s great. The expansion of the pretrial diversion has been great.
I will also note that I really appreciate Holyfield forcing the police to return with a warrant and then denying knowledge of any contraband found. One of the first UGA athletes to keep his mouth shut when talking to the police.
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Silence is golden when dealing with cops. If Ridley had kept his mouth shut no sustainable charges could have been made against him in the first place.
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It was especially stupid if they read him his Miranda rights. If they didn’t the evidence would likely be suppressed and the state might find a conviction problematic. If they did read him his rights and he talked anyway that was dumb.
My impression as a former police officer is that the police in Athens doing their job fairly aggressively but that is okay. I also have the impression the athletes are not being well trained on what to do and not do in the event of an incident and UGA does not back up their athletes when something does happen.
The worst case was what happened to Crowell with the gun charge. it was pretty clear they were not going to be able to make the charges against him stick. When confronted by a good lawyer the charges were withdrawn but it was too late for Crowell. I know his prior problems had compromised the environment for him, but Richt did not give due process a chance to work.
There is a big difference between a second chance and not letting the charge play out in the first place. UGA is not supportive that way.
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I always thought that Isiah Crowell got a raw deal and Mett, too. CMR always preached about how much he loved his players and was supposed to be like a father to them but with Isiah and Mett he just threw them away. Kind of like your father disowning you.
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Don’t agree about Crowell, he had mulitple issues and I saw him push an assistant coach on the sidelines during the SECCG. Seems to have matured but he had an attitude issue at UGA, wouldn’t have been on my team either. Draw a line and stick to it, just be consistent.
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what makes you think the decision on IC was made at the HC level, and not the AD level? Or even the Presidential level?
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Or the Big Donor level? We are talking about UGA here, aren’t we?
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Deny, deny, deny….say little else.
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Better yet don’t say anything and hire a good lawyer
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^This.
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Reminds me of the old Eddie Murphy routine from “Raw” …
Girlfriend: I saw you at that girl’s house
Guy: Wasn’t me
Girlfriend: Your car was in the driveway.
Guy: Wasn’t me.
Girlfriend: I saw your naked ass through the window.
Guy: Wasn’t me
Girlfriend: I saw you doing the nasty to her
Guy: Wasn’t me
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Agree. Glad to see our players exercising their rights. None of us wants a situation like utk, Gainesville or Tallahassee, but the ’emerging from an alley’ bullshit needed to be reigned in.
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They are just doing what UGA does when the NCAA comes calling. Sing like a canary.
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Funny but true, anyone with a law degree should be ashamed of how B-M handled AJ Green and Gurley
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I’ll always think McCheap threw Gurley to the wolves to save the swimming coach.
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Would you if you could imagine a world where the swimming coach would only interact wiith the AD through a lawyer?
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That is serious bullshit.
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The article you linked to stated that Georgia players have previously avoided suspension when entering pre trial diversion. I can’t think who they are but I found that interesting.
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On holymolyfield…
To obtain a search warrant in 24mins is curious to me. There has to be incentive to do this, no?
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Yeah, and what judge is at the office at 1 AM and can grant that sort of thing?
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I thought about this after reading the report. Is a judge on speed dial at 1:30am to sign warrants for this kind of thing? How does this work so quickly??
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My Uncle was the Judge in East Point in the 60’s and kept signed warrants in his mail box for the police to pick up after hours. Seems like somethings don’t change.
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the fish that gets caught is the fish that opens his mouth…
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I would definitely support a little processing of the Georgia way.
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Maybe the law school could offer classes to AA players in what to do until the lawyer gets there. Never talk to the police except to give them ID. Invoke your right to remain silent and not stupid.
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What we need is an athletic dorm like old Mcwhorter. It was just across the parking lot from the Coliseum. In 1967, it was brand new and in a great location for football and basketball players. The most important thing was there were NO resident assistants and the police were not allowed on the property. I never saw one anyway. The Coaches could control players coming and going if they wanted control over such things.
Great time was had by all..
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I agree. Putting jocks in a regular dorm under the control of RAs is asking for trouble. I know that some will say the players don’t really have the “college experience” in the jock dorm but they don’t have to deal with some ass-wipe who has some grudge against jocks being their next door neighbor either.
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We had “Mother Kasay” living in The Mac….did not need anyone else!
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Over here in the Great State of South Carolina (too small to be a country, too big to be an insane asylum) we call it ‘pretrial intervention’ or PTI. Works real well for young first timers. Football players not excepted.
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Keep your mouth shut, volunteer not a thing, ask for a lawyer, and no matter what the police say or do—stick with that.
They are fine tuned at this most 19 year old’s are not.
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It’s all a big racket. Possession of less than an ounce in many areas is handled by just issuing a citation and levying a fine. Most larger cities don’t have time to process as a full arrest. Even in tiny Knoxville, GA, Nick Marshall was just cited and sent on his way. Not because he was a football player, but because that’s the way they handle the offense. Other places think it’s necessary to cuff a guy, bring him to jail, mugshot, finger print, etc. then they have to bond out, pay court costs and pay a private probation agency to handle the pretrial intervention requirements, in addition to a fine. I’ve seen the fine amount range from $250 to $900. Where I live, minor possession is going to cost you over $2500. They also have your vehicle impounded, even if you have someone who can come get immediately. Even on private property. The tow company has to get their cut. This is also how underage alcohol possession is handled in Athens. Full arrests. You know, to teach the kids a lesson and all.
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