Georgia head coach Kirby Smart defends the program’s ‘culture,’ despite fatal crash and two arrests

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart has insisted his program doesn’t have a cultural problem, even though two of his players have been arrested for street racing offences, including Jalen Carter in connection with the fatal crash of the January 15.

Carter was booked Wednesday night for reckless driving in connection with the car accident that claimed the lives of sophomore teammate Devin Willock and Bulldogs recruiting coordinator Chandler LeCroy after the Department of the Athens-Clarke County Sheriff’s Office to obtain an arrest warrant for the 21-year-old.

Willock and LeCroy died in the car crash on January 15 after the group, which police say included Carter, allegedly raced their vehicles through the streets of Athens.

Also, last week, Bulldogs linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, a sophomore, was arrested on charges of racing on city streets and reckless driving, according to Athens County Jail booking records. -Clarke.

Yet despite two Georgia players being arrested for driving-related offenses in two weeks, Kirby defended the ‘culture’ within the Bulldogs’ football program.

‘Absolutely not. I would say we’re far from it,’ Smart told ESPN on Friday. ‘When you talk to people outside of our program who come into it, they talk about what a great culture we have, and we do an amazing job. Because I have a lot of outside entities that come into our program and pour into these young people.

‘Do we have perfect men, women and young players? Not necessarily. But I promise you this, that’s the intent: for us to grow these guys and make them better. And I feel very good about the culture within our program.’

Carter was pulled over by police and given a speeding warning just months before he was involved in a fatal car accident in January.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Carter had previously been pulled over and cited for speeding on September 22, 2022.

New police body camera video obtained by ABC News and Channel 2 Action News shows an officer stopping Carter on September 22 for driving 89 mph in a 45 mph zone and begging him to slow down.

The officer also told Carter that he had pulled over two other Georgia players minutes earlier and warned them to slow down.

While it appears players didn’t pay attention to earlier police warnings, Smart said he hopes they learn from the tragic events of January 15.

‘I mean, there [are] there are laws for these things, to prevent it for a reason,’ Smart said. “And we want to educate our players in every way, in every part of our organization. We are constantly looking for a better way in everything, health and safety included.

‘I talked about drugs and alcohol, I talked about gambling, I talked about car racing and high speeds. You have to educate your players and make sure they understand the risks and dangers of that, and that’s something we’ve tried to do.’

Smart added that his show brought in officers from the UGA Police Department and the Athens-Clarke County Police last summer to educate players on the dangers of street racing.

The trainer said Bryant Gantt, the program’s director of player support operations, had suggested the idea after seeing news clips of street racing in Atlanta.

The accident occurred on Sunday, January 15 at 2:45 a.m., just hours after Georgia’s victory parade, less than two miles from the school’s campus, when a group of players and team staff members huddled together. in three cars and left a local strip club to eat at a nearby restaurant. Waffle House, according to police. Willock was pronounced dead at the scene, while LeCroy died shortly after being taken to the hospital.

The investigation found that Chandler LeCroy, driver of the 2021 Ford Expedition, and Jalen Carter, driver of a 2021 Jeep Trackhawk, were operating their vehicles in a manner consistent with racing shortly after leaving the downtown Athens area around 2:30 a.m. am’ read the statement from the Athens-Clarke County Police.

Carter, who is predicted to be among the first players taken in next month’s NFL Draft, previously told police he was within a mile of the crash, then admitted following the other car as it crashed and finally He acknowledged that he was traveling with LeCroy. vehicle at the time of the accident. He left the scene of the accident before police or emergency medical workers arrived and returned an hour and a half later, denying that he was running, according to the court. Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Police also now say that LeCroy was legally intoxicated at the time of the accident with a blood alcohol level of .197. The state limit in Georgia is 0.08.

Police say LeCroy’s 2021 Ford Expedition, which had been leased to the athletic department for recruiting, “failed to negotiate a left-hand curve, causing the vehicle to strike the curb with the front passenger tire and roll over.” exit the highway on the west shoulder. As a result, the vehicle struck power poles and trees.

Police say both cars, Carter’s and LeCroy’s, were racing each other in the hours after the Bulldog parade, adding that LeCroy’s blood alcohol level was above the legal limit.

Smart said he was sleeping at home when his wife woke him up with the news. He had several missed calls on his cell phone.

“Heartache,” Smart said, when asked what he remembered from that night. ‘I received a call around 3 in the morning. She immediately went to the emergency room. Probably one of the hardest moments I have experienced as a coach and leader was seeing the pain on the faces of the players who had gone to the emergency room that morning. [Athletics director] Josh Brooks was there. Know, [I] I still remember the ER doctor telling me the news, and it was one of the most painful experiences of my life.’

Smart’s last interaction with Willock, 20, came at the end of the parade, but he said he doesn’t remember seeing LeCroy, 24, at the celebration.

“I remember him walking out of the stadium with a big smile on his face,” Smart said. ‘I just spoke at the podium, and we fixed each other up [and] We knuckled like we did from time to time. She just had an infectious smile. She one of the kindest and best people in terms of character. You know, he picked up my 10-year-old son and carried him off the field the night of the championship.

Smart said many of the players are still grieving and dealing with the pain of loss, but insisted the program provides support for their mental health.

Dumas-Johnson was arrested in connection with an alleged incident that took place on January 10, the day after Georgia defeated TCU in the College Football Playoff national championship game in Los Angeles.

A finalist for the Butkus Award, given annually to the top linebacker in college football, Dumas-Johnson was second on the Bulldogs with 70 total tackles as Georgia won its second straight national title last season. He, too, was a first-team All-American in 2022.

Dumas-Johnson is also believed to have been present on January 15, although he was driving his own car. Police have questioned him about the accident, according to the AJC.