Response from Georgia proves they don’t get it

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham had an opportunity on Tuesday, after deciding not to address the situation on Monday, to issue an apology regarding Grantham’s despicable gestures during overtime of Saturday’s loss to the Florida Gators.

No matter who the apology was to – the University of Georgia, the University of Florida, the Southeastern Conference or even just Gators senior punter/kicker Chas Henry – it would have been accepted and the relatively minor issue would have blown over. Instead, Richt and Grantham played the “move on” card.

“I’ll just say that emotions run high,” Richt said. “People do things they probably wish they didn’t do, so I think that [the choke sign] was what was being communicated. I don’t think he’s necessarily proud of it. We’re just going to learn from it and move on.”

Grantham spoke briefly Tuesday evening. “As a competitor, sometimes you get caught up in the heat of the moment,” he said. “I wish the situation hadn’t happened. It was a tough, hard-fought game. They won it, and I’m ready to move forward and finish out the year strong.” Asked whether or not he would apologize, Grantham said: “I’ve kind of basically said what I’m going to say.”

Here’s what members of the media had to say about it Tuesday:

Tony Barnhart – Atlanta Journal-Constitution

This is totally unacceptable on any level. And I don’t want to hear this “heat of competition” crap from anybody. I don’t care how intense a game is. A coach does not attempt to intimidate a student-athlete from another school. You don’t do it. Period.

If I’m Jeremy Foley, the athletics director at Florida, I’m on the phone to my friend, Greg McGarity, who worked for me for 19 years. And I’m raising some hell.

This not about competition or the intensity of the Georgia-Florida rivalry. This is about the adults in charge acting like adults. Georgia fans complain to me all the time that they think Mark Richt’s program doesn’t have enough discipline. If the adults can’t control themselves how in the hell do we expect the players to do it?