Ever since recruiting staffer Chandler LeCroy killed herself and football player Devin Willock while racing Willock’s teammate Jalen Carter on Barnett Shoals Road after a night of drinking, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been investigating players’ driving records and the team culture under Kirby Smart.
The AJC revealed the results of that investigation over the weekend, and they should concern anyone who lives in Athens and shares the local streets with these Bulldogs.
Three reporters who spent months examining court records found that the 350 players who’ve suited up for Smart have been ticketed a total of 300 times for traffic offenses. Sixty of those were for serious speeding infractions, in one case driving more than 100 miles per hour in a 35 mph zone.
That ratio is far higher than for the general population of Athens. Police have initiated a little over 6,000 traffic stops this year, or about one per 20 residents. And, of course, not all of those stops resulted in a ticket.
In one case, according to the AJC, running back Kenny McIntosh smashed into an Uber driver, sending her to the hospital. In another, running back James Cook plowed into five unoccupied cars parked downtown.
Smart has declined to say how such players are disciplined, but they are rarely suspended, and coach Bryan Gantt—the program’s unofficial liaison with law enforcement—often schedules their court dates and pays their fines himself in cash.
Willock’s family is suing the UGA Athletic Association and Carter, seeking $40 million in damages.
Even the deaths of Willock and LeCroy haven’t stopped players from speeding. Just last month, wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint was stopped three times. Police clocked him driving 20, 31 and 45 mph over the speed limit.
The issue is not restricted to Georgia football players by any means. Reckless driving has been a problem everywhere since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when stay-at-home orders emptied out city streets.
But players at a successful program like Georgia’s may be even more prone to speeding than the average college-aged young man thanks to “name, image and likeness” deals. Many players receive free cars in exchange for endorsing dealerships or can buy expensive vehicles with their NIL money. Those cars tend to be extremely high-powered, like Carter’s Jeep Trackhawk, which has a 707-horsepower engine and goes from zero to 60 in 3.5 seconds.
Heavier and more powerful vehicles are also to blame for the past few years’ spike in pedestrians deaths. Drivers have killed seven people in Athens already this year, and killed 36 in 2021 and 2022 combined. Pedestrian deaths rose 18% in 2022, and overall traffic deaths rose 5%.
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