Judging from yesterday’s comments, the nine-page letter issued by the Athletic Association’s attorney to the AJ-C was cathartic. That being said, what it wasn’t was dispositive of the matter between the football program and the paper. While there are several reasons for that, perhaps the main one stems from there being two issues investigated by Judd and Company, the numerous traffic arrests and the sexual assault allegations. It’s the case that the former has been far more rigorously reported by the AJ-C than has the latter, which is no doubt why that was the sole subject of the aforementioned letter.
Okay, so if it’s not dispositive, where do things go from here? Well, for one thing, I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for a retraction. I think it’s more likely the paper simply goes quiet about the sexual assault claims and keeps pushing on the other front, where its credibility is stronger, in the hopes that it becomes the general impression for all of its reporting in the eyes of the general public (outside of the UGA fan base, of course).
Georgia’s likely course of action in the near term is the opposite. They’ll hammer away at the shoddiness of the reporting of the sexual assault stuff with the intent of making that the primary narrative about Judd’s reporting on all matters related to the football program. That may work for a while with SEC Media Days just around the corner, but it’s probably not that viable over the long haul. For one thing, the paper can simply keep printing articles about the football program; it’s not a simple thing for the athletic department to schedule pressers in response to every time a negative article about Georgia football appears.
For another, let’s face it, the program hasn’t been at its best dealing with the speeding issues. It’s not just the tragedy of the deaths themselves. It’s the frequency and the degree of the players’ speeding that’s caught even Smart a bit flat footed.
Third, while I’ve seen some question the strategy of releasing the letter in the first place, out of a concern that it would simply wave a red flag in front of the media as a challenge to dig deeper into the football program, I don’t see that as being as big a concern as an increase in the media’s skepticism of Smart’s management, which is already apparent, based on what I read from the Q&A at yesterday’s presser.
Take, for example, this back and forth about Bryant Gantt’s behind the scenes role with regard to player arrests.
Q. On the Adam Anderson case, do you feel it was appropriate for Bryant Gantt to first sit in on witness interviews with employees? Secondly, to appear in court as a character witness in a case that involved an alleged victim who was also a student of the university who also was an employee of the football program at the time? Do you feel that was a signal that the football program or the university was taking sides in a sexual assault case?
KIRBY SMART: First of all, I’m not an expert at making that decision. That’s not my decision, whether or not he sits in that. Athens-Clarke County PD obviously had no issues with that. That’s their decision. I’m not an expert on whether he should or shouldn’t be allowed in there. That’s not my call.
I do know in the case that you’re referring to, and continue to refer to, the most important thing when we found out about Adam Anderson, was to be neutral in our state between both the complainant and I guess it’s the respondent.
And the reason to speak a little deeper to that situation, but we were advised by legal to neither push anyone to go to a bond hearing to testify, nor stop anyone because they had a legal right to do that.
As I understand it, that pertains to Bryant Gantt as well.
DARRICE GRIFFIN: They were operating within their personal capacity, and some would argue that it was not our place to encourage nor discourage. We maintained a neutral position with our student-athletes and with our staff members, given the autonomy that they have to operate within their own capacity in that situation.
Q. Operating in their own capacity, while identifying themselves by their University of Georgia and football program affiliation. Does that not give the impression that they are operating on behalf of the program or the university?
KIRBY SMART: (Inaudible).
Smart’s squirming there is almost palpable. And you can sense there was a feeling in the room that he was vulnerable. That’s not something the press is going to walk away from, like it or not.
One way or another, for this mess to fade away, Georgia is going to have to figure out an effective way to get its knuckleheads to take their feet off the gas. It may not be the kind of shit Nick Saban has the time for, but Kirby Smart is going to have to make the time, distraction or no distraction.
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