UGA WR

kctiger1282 · 2024-08-15T14:05:02.891Z

Sacovie White has reckless driving charges dropped, that’s what the 2nd or 3rd player receiving the same treatment?

tjohnson6317®

Commissioner [1270]

TigerPulse: 100%

Posts: 315

Joined: 2009

Home Cooking?

Aug 15, 2024, 11:34 AM

I live in Athens, Georgia. The influence of the University of Georgia on the community is overwhelming. The university is the largest employer (3.5 times the next highest employer - a local hospital system) and in February 2024, "UGA Today" stated that the economic impact it had on the state of Georgia surged to $8.1 billion in 2023. The argument could be made that as goes the University of Georgia, so goes Athens - Clarke County, the NE Georgia region, and even the state.

So, you are likely thinking that Clemson University likely has the same influence on the upstate. And I am sure that is very much the case. However, the size of the University of Georgia with current enrollment of ~ 42,000 is almost double that of Clemson University at ~ 22,900. Also, a big difference is that Georgia has a law school and many of the legal people in the community are proud alums.

On August 1, 2024, it was reported that Georgia WR Rara Thomas was dismissed from the football team. Then, "Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General Will Fleenor filed a motion to dismiss the reckless driving charge against Sacovie White and an additional citation on Aug. 6. Judge Charles Auslander III approved the motion the next day." -- from the AJC.

Let's look at the parties involved:
1) Solicitor General Will Fleenor has worked in the Athens Solicitor's office since 2010. He graduated in 2001 from LSU with a B.A. in Political Science and Cultural Anthropology. He earned his J.D. from the Walter F. George School of Law at Mercer University in 2007. So, he's not a UGA graduate, then no problem? I go back to the premise I started with - the influence of UGA is overwhelming. If you work in the Athens-Clarke County government or at UGA, you will not survive unless you become a fan. I really mean that statement, the UGA politics are very real. I attend a large church in downtown Athens in which everyone is a UGA fan. Even our pastor, who played basketball and graduated of another SEC school wears a UGA red stole many Sundays. When I teased him about it, he said ~ "its a company town and you have to support the company (UGA)."

2) Judge Charles Auslander III has served in the Magistrate Court from 2002–2011, and in the State Court since 2011. Judge Auslander earned his undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Georgia.

Maybe it is a coincidence that the player Thomas was dismissed from the team around August 1 and a motion to dismiss this other WR's reckless driving charge was filed within a week. And to be fair, the WR is a 3* unproven freshman, so maybe it is a coincidence.

To me, it is a problem that the people making these decisions are too close to UGA to be unbiased. And, I don't know the solution to that problem. In other words, the cases involving UGA athletes can't reasonably be heard in Savannah (Chatham County).

Additionally, someone at UGA and the legal system needs to look at the trend of moving violations that have been made by UGA athletes (mainly football players) during the past several years. Recall that in January 2023, a UGA staff member and a football player were killed in a wreck that involved excessive speed. One of the two surviving passengers in that wreck has injuries that are life altering. Her lawsuit against UGA is being stonewalled / delayed / ignored because UGA has an army of lawyers and she is an individual trying to get the care she needs without deep financial resources to fight for her. Shouldn't that event alone make the legal system deal more harshly when a reckless driving charge is levied?

As I said, I have an Athens, GA address, but live in a adjoining county. My policy is to avoid driving through the campus and the surrounding streets to avoid being confronted by the reckless drivers. And you may ask, if UGA is so overwhelming, how have I avoided becoming a barking dog after living here for 19+ years? The answer is simple - I work in private industry and we have a lake house near Clemson where we spend much of our free time outside of the UGA shadow.

In conclusion, I will say that the Athens and Oconee County area of Georgia is a very nice place to live. Our two sons completed HS here before attending Clemson and we are blessed to have the sons and their families living nearby. However, the reckless nature of the UGA athletic program is a sad stain on the community. It should be dealt with instead of letting the athletes get away with no consequences.

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

Just further evidence that systemic racism by the police is still..

Re: Just further evidence that systemic racism by the police is still..

Yes Ma'am****

Re: UGA WR

Tell em, coot!***

Re: UGA WR

Wasn't aimed specifically at Georgia or...

Re: UGA WR

Home Cooking?

Re: Home Cooking?

How many credit hours did...

Re: How many credit hours did...

Ohh, cyber bully huh?****

Payoff??***

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

Re: UGA WR

TigerBoard POTD