Content warning: This article describes intimate partner violence. Please take care while reading.
The University of Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Colbie Young was arrested on Tuesday, just a few months after receiver Rodarius “Rara” Thomas was dismissed from the team following his arrest on similar charges. These are just a few of many recent scandals in the Bulldogs program, and fans have called for a “culture change” in Athens, GA.
According to Clarke County jail records, Young, 22, was arrested around 4:20am on Oct. 8 and charged with misdemeanor battery and assault on an unborn child. Young was released on bond that same day. Young, from Binghamton, NY, is alleged to have assaulted a 20-year-old pregnant woman after she came to his apartment to discuss their relationship, ESPN reported. The woman said she caught Young on the phone with another woman, and Young and the woman at his apartment began arguing.
Young is accused of verbally and physically assaulting the woman, who at this time has not been named in the press. When Young returned to his room, she tried to leave, but she was interrupted by a phone call from a friend. Allegedly, Young returned and aggressively grabbed and squeezed her around the abdomen and torso. The woman told the police Young was “trying to harm her.”
Police noted bruising, redness, and discoloration on the woman’s body when they arrived. She was treated at a local hospital. Young denied the assault. Young’s lawyer called the woman Young’s ex-girlfriend. It’s unclear if Young is the father of the woman’s unborn child.
Young was “suspended indefinitely”
The day after Young’s arrest, UGA football announced the team’s fourth-leading receiver was indefinitely suspended from the team. “I got to speak to him this morning,” Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said at a press conference. “He’s been suspended indefinitely until this legal matter is resolved. We can’t really comment any further on the specifics of it, but we had a good meeting with him this morning.”
Young’s arrest came only weeks after Bulldogs cornerback was arrested for reckless driving and a few months after wide receiver Rara Thomas was dismissed from the team following his arrest on cruelty to children and battery charges. These arrests are among several other legal problems facing Georgia football this season. Last year, meanwhile, Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car wreck just one day after Georgia won the national title.
“Georgia coaches need to watch their players at all times”
News of Young’s arrest and the history of legal problems and traffic accidents at UGA frustrated fans who called on Georgia coaches “to watch their players at all times” in comments on social media. “Georgia needs a culture change crashing out in college isn’t the way at all,” another comment added. For others, the responsibility fell on the head coach. “Program is completely broken. Fire Lirby [Coach Kirby Smart],” Streameast News Network said.
Scandals and controversy have surrounded Georgia football since at least the early 1980s. And in Coach Smart’s seven-year tenure, 11 players have stayed on the team even though they faced assault allegations. In July, a Georgia football staff member was fired for betting on sports.
“When you have 130 17- to 23-year-olds, you’re going to have issues,” Coach Smart said at a press conference announcing Young’s suspension from the team. “You’re going to be judged by the people you lead, and you’ve got to stand up and face it and do right by the kids and keep trying to find a better way,” Smart added.
If you know someone suffering from sexual violence, contact RAINN or the National Sexual Abuse Telephone Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.
