The Georgia Athletics Division is disputing a former footballer’s claim that he “maintains an insecure, incompetent or racially sensitive environment.”
In a statement posted on social media on Tuesday night, Bulldogs safety Otis Reese wrote that his time on the team “takes a devastating mental toll” on him.
“From the first moment I stepped on campus, it wasn’t what I expected,” Reese said. Wrote. “The racist events that I’m experiencing have weighed heavily on me and never felt like it.”
Reese, who replaced Ole Miss in January, has been apologizing to the NCAA and SEC for playing for the rebels this season. Reese played 25 games for the Bulldogs, a junior from Leisburg, Georgia, including all 14 in 2019.
He wrote that when he informed Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart that he was leaving the team on Oct. 4, “I was reassured by Coach Smart that if I would finish the season and he would ‘not let my team down’ So it will. Support both my decision to relocate and my request to be eligible immediately. “
Reese said he gave a text message to the NCAA that he had 4kto. Smart was sent on purpose on the 4th, which Reese says he has checked his plans to leave, and “was manipulated to play the next day when I was really in my dark. Moment.” On the 5th, the Bulldogs defeated Tennessee 43-14.
“We cannot comment on matters concerning student-athlete eligibility due to federal privacy law, but we would be happy to share our full response to Otis Reese’s apology request, if it provides a signed representation,” the Georgia Athletic Association said in a statement Wednesday. “The UGA disputes any suggestion that it maintains an unsafe, unsatisfactory or racially sensitive environment.”
Several Georgia players, including wide receivers Demetris Robertson and Caris Jackson, expressed support for Reese’s apology on social media.
Reese wrote in his social media post that he was twice “pulled and harassed by police officers” while attending Georgia.
“The first time I was driving alone and the second time I was traveling in my team car,” Reese wrote. “On both occasions the officers were very aggressive, accusing us of using drugs and searching cars without any basis and telling us that they would take us to jail. The constant discussion of this kind of harassment of players during my time in the UGA My teammates were wrongly arrested and harassed. “
Reese said he was “polite, respectful and friendly” during the confrontation with police, which “shook me.” He indicated that he had received tickets and testimonials from officials. Athens-Clark County Police records show that on December 13, 2018, Reese was stopped for a disturbing driving / hands-free violation and paid a 50 fine.
Reese also wrote that he was called racially obscene by a white student-athlete and that other white classmates “mocked slavery and pretended to whip each other” while participating in Georgia.
“Coach [Lane] Kiffin and Ole Miss have been strong advocates against racism and have worked to change perceptions, “Reese wrote.” I have seen first hand how Ox Xford has a real commitment to change and I am excited to be a part of this program. I would be eligible to play now if I was allowed to leave when I tried last year. “
Georgia also opposed the SEC amnesty for former early offensive lineman Cad Maze, who relocated to Tennessee in January. The NCAA initially pardoned me last week after rejecting his request, but he still needs one from the conference to play this season. Maya’s lawyer calls Georgia a “toxic environment.”
“Unfortunately, I am not able to answer him, so he will play himself in due course,” Smart told reporters on Tuesday. “But that’s not something I’m allowed to comment on.”
In an interview with WJOX-FM in Birmingham, Alabama on Wednesday morning, SEC Commissioner Greg Sanki was asked about players like May and Reese, who are still awaiting a decision on their intracranial waiver.
“There’s a very straightforward rule that says if you transfer from School A to School B in the SEC, you complete one academic year of residence,” Sanki said. “People send apologies, but one question that should be asked is not what the commissioner will do, but why didn’t our members vote to change that rule?
“We’re inviting people to campus knowing there’s a clear rule, and now everyone is saying and saying, ‘Well, you need to get people out of that rule.’
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