Georgia Bulldogs Football: Is Leadership an Issue?

McLeod Neale by Analyst Written on August 02, 2008
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Additionally on Aug. 2, Defensive Back Donovan Baldwin and Linebacker Marcus Dotwin were hospitalized after a brawl.  Following the incident, Richt also dismissed Baldwin from the team because it was his second incident this off-season.

While Baldwin and Dotwin were in the hospital many UGA players, like good teammates, visited them to see how they were doing.  Just when it seems like things cannot get any worse for the Georgia Bulldogs, on August 3rd, teammate, junior linebacker Darius Dewberry, was visiting his teammates when he decided to vandalize a parking lot control arm and plant container pots causing a whopping $2100 in estimated damages.

Dewberry became the sixth player that was either suspended or booted off of the team this off season, when Richt decided to suspend him for the first two games of the year.  The hospital decided not to press charges, but on top of the suspension Dewberry's punishment includes extra conditioning at 5:30 AM, 20 hours of community service, a mandatory part-time job to pay off the damages, and mandatory counseling.

The number of offenses is alarming, but the other thing that is alarming is how many of them are alcohol-related.  An off season full of booze is not a way to win an SEC or national championship.

It just spells a lot of trouble for a team during the regular season when they are having lots of off-field incidents, and it makes it worse when they are alcohol-related.  It has to make you wonder how many people on the team are doing these things and not getting caught.

I am sure that Richt is going to give his team a mouthful about proper off-field conduct when they start practice on Monday afternoon, and his team deserves it.

I am not one who delights in the transgressions of opponents, even if it is a rival like the Georgia Bulldogs, but these signs cannot be promising for Georgia heading into the regular season.

I hope the Bulldogs can get themselves together and behave off of the field, because 2008 seems like it is going to be a great year in college football. It would be such a shame to let off-field incidents ruin the season of such a talented team.

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written on August 02, 2008 Opinion

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