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ATHENS, Ga. - The newest Uga will be introduced at Saturday's game against Vanderbilt. Rumor has it, the Bulldog mascot has been serving a six-game suspension for being impounded last summer for carrying an invalid dog license.
Seriously, it's been that kind of year for Georgia football. There hasn't been a break from the bad news Bulldogs with a string of arrests (11) this year outpacing Georgia's average annual wins under Mark Richt (10). And those numbers don't count the scandalous arrest and resignation of athletic director Damon Evans.
Just when it looks like the program might have turned a corner with a desperately needed victory over Tennessee to snap a four-game losing streak, the latest shoe fell through the bars of the local pokey.
Starting tailback Caleb King got arrested Monday morning for failing to appear in Walton County court for a speeding ticket he got over the summer. If they'd found out about it in August when he skipped the court date, King might have got off with a stern lecture.
But being the latest guy caught, King got a two-game suspension from Richt. The sliding scale has gotten tougher at Georgia as tolerance has been worn to the bone.
"I expect all our players to take care of their responsibilities on and off the field," Richt said. "When players don't do that it damages the reputation of the player, our team and our university. My goal is for Caleb to learn a lesson and for other players to learn from his experience."
The message has been very slowly sinking in to the young Bulldogs that their leash has no more slack. In fairness, all but one incident Georgia's team has been cited for happened before the 2010 season started, but the leaking faucet has been ongoing and heightened the tension on a struggling program.
The summer was dominated by a series of misdeeds and dismissals headlined by quarterback Zach Mettenberger's banishment over sexual assault charges.
A week before the season opener, running back Washaun Ealey was arrested on Aug. 27 and suspended for one game on charges of hit-and-run of a parked vehicle and driving on a suspended license.
The day of the opener, star receiver A.J. Green was held out pending an NCAA investigation. The next week he was suspended by the NCAA for four games for selling his bowl jersey to a registered agent. The week after that his appeal was denied.
Hours after Green's suspension ended after a third consecutive defeat at Mississippi State, freshman linebacker Demetre Baker was charged with DUI and got kicked off the team.
Now two weeks later Caleb King's lapse in common sense exacerbates an already embarrassing situation.
"It's disappointing," said receiver Tavarres King, who himself sat out the season opener for an off-season charge for underage possession of alcohol. "You know if you get in trouble you're going to get a pretty good lashing."
That's an understatement considering all the attention on the situation and the pressure on Richt to fix it. Georgia president Michael Adams expressed his concern about the disturbing trend in September when he addressed the Athletic Association staff.
"We have had too much in the football team," Adams said. "We expect the coaches and the ADs to provide role models and leadership for their players."
Brand new athletic director Greg McGarity - keenly aware of the circumstances that led to his hiring - addressed the matter in a newspaper interview his first day on the job Aug. 30.
"Yeah, I think there are too many," McGarity said. "I think when it happens, it's embarrassing to the institution - it takes away from team unity. ... I think it's a problem, and it's something we want to do a 180 on across the board. It's really every sport, and I don't like the excuse, 'Well, that's going to happen (with) college students; it's just part of the deal.' I don't buy that.
"I think it's a privilege to play intercollegiate athletics and it must be treated that way."
No doubt, but it's simplistic to blame the coaching staff or university for the lack of sense these players have displayed. Some things you're supposed to learn at home.
"It's more on the players," receiver Kris Durham. "We're responsible for our actions and you have to make good decisions. If the coaches feel they have to make harsher punishments, that needs to be done. They've got our best interests in mind and Coach Richt treats us like he would his kids."
The escalating string of suspensions has taken a toll on the team. Aside from the distractions, the players involved have been some of the Bulldogs' biggest offensive playmakers.
"It's hard to have great continuity week by week if a young man has done something to keep himself from being on the field," Richt said. "Again, it's our job also to deal with those things, but also not take away from the preparation and not take away from the focus of the team. It's something I'd prefer not to have to manage, but we've been managing it."
Richt said he has talked to McGarity about implementing standards to fix the problems.
The coaches obviously can't hold these players' hands through life, but he said they've already taken steps to try to mitigate the incidents involving traffic violations. They had already started checking players' licenses to see if they were in good standing monthly and will now do it weekly.
"If we are aware of things ... then we can make sure that thing gets taken care of," Richt said. "Again, we are not taking care of it. We just have to make sure it gets taken care of by the student-athlete."
The grace period on tolerance is over and the penalties will only get steeper from here for both players and coaches.
Reach Scott Michaux at (706) 823-3219
or scott.michaux@augustachronicle.com
