How do you stop young men from driving fast? That is a question Kirby Smart and The University of Georgia are trying to figure out. At at time when most everything is going right on the football field, the UGA football staff, athletic department and adminstration have to figure this question out. Since the deadly crash that took the lives of UGA football player Devin Willock and staffer Chandler LeCroy, there have been numerous driving-related incidents involving arrests and/or citations.
The latest being sophomore defensive back Daniel Harris, who was arrested for speeding and reckless driving Thursday night. Harris was pulled over by the Athens Clarke County Police Department while driving along the Georgia 10 outer loop at College Station. According to the police report, he was clocked at driving his Jeep Grand Cherokee at 106 miles per hour under wet road conditions.
Harris was charged with the following:
- Reckless driving
- No seatbelt
- Operation of unregistered vehicle without current license plate/revalidation decal
- No proof of insurance
- Affixing materials that reduce the visibility of windows/windshield
He was released about an hour later after his arrest on a total of $50 in bonds. It is unknown at the moment if Harris travelled with the team to Lexington to take on Kentucky, but it's not likely.
Back to the orignial question; how do you make it stop? That's the question on the minds of many Dawg fans, parents, and football viewers across the nation. I'm sure Kirby Smart and his staff are asking themselves the same thing. From working with teenagers and young people my entire life, I can tell you that dealing with them usually brings more questions than answers.
Why can't they just slow down?
There could be many answers to this question. None of what I say is to condone or explain away what is happening, but do we remember ourselves as teenagers? Multiply that times 100, with Georgia being a high profile football program and with everyone having a camera and social media now. Add in NIL and the ability for college football players to now have quick access to super powered vehicles and you have a recipe for disaster. As an adult it is easy to see that these are all reasons to be MORE careful, but that's just not how the brains of young adults work.
Is it just Georgia?
No, it isn't just Georgia. There is a culture of speeding and street racing in many places across the country, and Georgia is not the only school having this problem. Smart's program is going to be under more of a microscope for a variety of reasons, most of which are understandable and deserved. Georgia is a high profile program that has won two of the lest three national championships. The program has seen what would be an unusual number of citations and arrests involving different driving infractions for any program, but especially one that went through what these players, coaches, and staff members went through last January. Again, it makes sense to us as adults to take these factors as more reasons to be extra careful. Unfortunately, that's not how the minds of young people work. They think they're invincible and think they're different. As obvious as it is to us, they often think "it can't happen to me." What has to be done to change their minds? What can be done to make them realize the importance of not driving 100 miles per hour?
Whose fault is it?
We've seen everybody thrown under the bus in different articles, interviews and posts across the internet. It's been laid at the feet of Kirby Smart. Of course he is the head coach and it's his responsibility to get it fixed, but would his program have won two straight national championships if he ran a program with an undiciplined culture? It's actually quite the opposite. Every other facet of the program is known to be the most disciplined in the nation. A video has recently surfaced of Smart making sure every player on the practice field has their shirts tucked in.
Parents have been blamed for "not raising their kids right" and not teaching them the right way. Some think they should be the ones to take responsibilty for their sons' vehicles and how they drive them. They think the people who live sometimes hundreds or even a thousand miles away should take the heat for their children's actions.
Of course there will be an outlier or two, but sooner or later the responsibility has to placed where it belongs. Nobody else's name is printed on the ticket or the arrest record. These players are going to realize that thier actions or inactions have consequences.
What are the consequences?
Kirby Smart has mentioned multiple times that they have brought in special guests to speak with the players, including law enforcement. He's required incoming players to take defensive driving courses. There is a leadership team of players in place to help keep their teammates in check. There has been multiple counts of internal punishment, which usually means running them until they can't walk. Smart has also mentioned that the NIL collective has "fined" players for violating terms of their contract.
Former receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint was suspended for a game last year for reckless driving and speeding. David Daniel-Sisavanh was dismissed from the team after reckless driving charges in Atlanta. Starting running back Trevor Etienne was just suspended for the Clemson game. He took a plea deal from a DUI arrest in March, where the DUI charge was dismissed. Would it be smart for Smart to just kick the next person to get a speeding violation off the team? Even if he was only going 10 miles over the speed limit? Does he implement a "one reckless driving charge and you're out" rule? Is it fair to answer one extreme with another extreme? He's already suspended players and kicked one off the team.
Why aren't the consequences working?
That's what everyone is wondering. That's the question that I'm sure Smart is asking himself on a daily basis. He and the administration at Georgia would be the first to act if they knew. In some ways the punishment seems to be working, as there has only been one reported player so far to find himself involved in more than one incident as the driver of a vehicle who was ticketed or arrested. He is the one who is off the team. It obviously isn't correcting the issue though, as more players find themselves in trouble.
How does it get fixed?
Again, a question that has gone mostly unanswered. Smart has been the first to admit that they have a problem. He hasn't excused their actions, but has defended his players as good kids who have made mistakes. He's not shying away from the fact that it's his job to get this solved. He's the leader and face of the organization. He answers to the athletic director and school president. He answers the questions from the local media. His name is the one in the news when something else happens.
If he or anyone else involved with the organization had a magic wand to wave to get the message across, I'm sure they would have used it already. Until they find that wand or until these guys quit driving fast, Kirby Smart and The University of Georgia will still be doing everything they can to turn the questions into answers.
Photo via UGAA
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