ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia safety Alec Ogletree has been suspended for at least one game after a misdemeanor theft charge.
University police obtained a warrant stemming from a June incident in which a scooter helmet was reported missing from a student-athlete academic center, Chief Jimmy Williamson said.
The helmet was later reported to be in Ogletree's possession, and a warrant on a theft by taking charge was issued after an investigation, Williamson said.
Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said in a statement that Ogletree will miss Saturday's game against Louisiana-Lafayette.
"Certainly it's an unfortunate sequence of events," Richt said. "I'm disappointed in the situation and will continue to gather information as the case is processed through proper legal channels.
"In the meantime, Alec is still responsible for a poor decision and will serve a minimum one-game suspension as a result."
A woman who answered the phone at the Clarke County jail said Ogletree turned himself in Friday and was released on bond. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound safety from Newnan is the ninth Georgia football player to be arrested this year.
Comments
Whats the difference between a 50 dollar helmet and 50 dollars in cash? The guy is a THIEF period and should have been jailed and suspended from school. The terms, Information, legal channels etc, etc, are just buzz words till the issue is forgotten.
How many times have we heard Richt say "(fill in a name) made a poor decision and will serve a minimum one-game suspension as a result." In other words he won't play against pushover University of Louisiana at Lafayette but will be suited up and ready to play against the South Carolina Gamecocks in Columbia the following weekend.
Sadly the Dawgs have been awarded the 2010 Fulmer Cup for their many off-the-field problems. Thankfully Coach Richt is praying hard for every one of those boys who ran afoul of the law.
Look, I'm as big of a Dawg fan as they come, and even I am getting sick of tired of this crud! Richt is right in that it is the PLAYER who is responsible for decisions they make, yet it always comes back to make the team and the school look bad. I do have one observation to make, though. Why is it that the coaches are the ones who are looked at to hand down additional penalties, besides whatever punitive punishments are dealt? If a psych-major has a run-in with the law, do you ever see the psych-professors dealing out additonal punishment??? And Noils, you are wrong in that Coach Richt has always made the players serve their punishment in the next concurrent game(s), not this easy game, and then wait awhile until the next easy games comes around. Now, isn't that what Steve Spurrier is currently doing to his players? Regardless, the bottom line is that this guy needs to sit out at least 2 concurrent games, in my opinion.
Georgia recruits the same players that Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina do. So why do all these kids get arrested when they get to UGA and not so much at those other schools? There's something weird going on behind the scenes that we don't know about. You can't tell me there aren't kids doing stupid things in Gainesville and Tuscaloosa. My guess is the police departments are a lot more lax on the football players in those towns. There's always been speculation that the Athens-Clarke County Police Department has an axe to grind with the football team. Lets face it, some of the charges filed against UGA players have been ridiculously petty.
Smart Alec need I say more....for a scooter helmet....The coach did not
give you a helmet to play in the game with..smart alec real smart alec.
JM88, the guy steals someone else's helmet and you want to blame the police?
You say the charges are 'petty'. Are you also saying they aren't valid? That no law was broken?
It's not so 'petty' when you are the victim.
UGA football players class schedule:
8:00-10:00- Roadside and Ditch Maintenance and Clearing
10:00-11:00- License Plate Manufacturing
11:00-12:00- Weightlifting
12:00- Shower (soap on a rope recommended)
A coach who is making $3 million and is "on the hot seat" may take a player with off-the-field issues in high school if he feels they are a difference maker on the field who can save their job. To put it in perspective, that kind of money is much more than the average American will make in a lifetime.
I believe that the local police in many SEC towns would gladly cover up player misdemeanors if they didn't fear the media would find out about it. UGA football is watched closely by the AJC. They are very aggressive in covering player activities. The same goes for South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida and Tennessee. I think there are so many problems in Knoxville that the police and the press have to get involved. Think about it. You don't hear nearly the number of stories about player misconduct coming out of Auburn, Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge or Fayetteville which are also homes to bigtime SEC teams.
I'm not excusing bad conduct by Dawg players as something obviously needs to be done about it other than 1 game suspensions. Yes other schools keep players out against weak non-conference competition. They don't have the number of players as UGA has or the seriousness of some of the offenses.
"12:00- Shower (soap on a rope recommended)"
LOL. Coach Richt has been busier than a bar of soap in San Quentin.
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