Georgia Suspensions: A Product of Athens

Georgia's Isaiah Crowell, Ken Malcome and Carlton Thomas were all suspended for this past weekend's game vs. New Mexico State...all of them tailbacks. Isaiah Crowell has now missed 5 quarters so far this year with suspensions. After Washaun Ealey was kicked off the team this past spring, then Caleb King was booted for being ineligible academically, there doesn't seem to be much discipline in UGA's backfield. In fact, there doesn't seem to be much discipline for any of the athletes: football, basketball, even the former athletic director.

Mark Richt is a stand-up guy. He's done a lot to help Georgia and their 'most-obnoxious-fans-in-the-SEC' tone down their rudeness, drunkenness, and outright stupid comments from occurring every minute to now just occurring every other minute. Richt is a strong Christian, a really good person, and one of the reason Georgia has picked up a few more fans and a few less haters in recent years. But even though he's tried to provide a fine example for his players, arrests and suspensions are all too common.

My reasoning for this: Athens, GA. To me, there are 3 different kinds of SEC college towns. 1. Preppie, clean-cut & southern (Ole Miss, MSU, Alabama, Auburn) 2. Drinking (LSU, Georgia, Florida) 3. Other (South Carolina, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Arkansas) The common theme between the schools in category two is, they are in a relatively large town. Georgia is probably #1 when it comes to a drinking town. They are also artsy-which is dumb. I've been to Athens at least 5 times in the last decade...and I've been to Knoxville, Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Oxford, Starkville, Nashville about as much (+ or -). Athens is just different. It's all about drinking, all the time. Seriously.

If you've been to Auburn and Athens, is it really any wonder why Auburn kids don't get arrested as much as Georgia ones? Not to say that the college students in my #1 or #3 categories do not party - but it's just not like Athens. When everyone around Crowell & Co. is drinking like fish and probably doing other things, what are the chances he will do it? Pretty good. That is why I think Georgia players have so many 'discipline' issues. I don't think Crowell is necessarily a bad kid, but he should understand the potential he has and if he wants to be successful he had better clean it up.

JB