Kirby Smart on Georgia's reckless driving issue: 'We continue to have guys make poor decisions'
Kirby Smart and Georgia‘s continued struggles off the field have been a sore spot for the program, particularly when it comes to driving-related incidents.
Just last week, defensive back Daniel Harris was arrested by Athens-Clarke County Police for reckless driving and four other misdemeanor charges. He was reportedly driving 106 miles per hour in a 65-mph zone.
Smart was pressed on why the program keeps having such issues on Tuesday afternoon.
“Because we continue to have guys make poor decisions, you know? It’s very unfortunate,” Kirby Smart said. “I know that our staff, myself, continue to drive home the sensitive nature of it. It’s certainly a deadly speed when you’re talking about the speed that he was traveling at.
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“You want kids to grow up. You want to treat them like your own kids. You want them to grow up and make good decisions and learn from others’ mistakes. Yeah, we have guys share and we obviously continue to talk to them, but it hasn’t stopped them. So find a way to do it.”
Kirby Smart discussed off-field issues this offseason
Smart said at SEC Media Days this offseason that Georgia has the right process in place to avoid off-the-field traffic issues, even though they keep occurring. While he is disappointed in the arrests, he doesn’t plan on changing his methods.
He also defended his program and said that he does not shy away from disciplining players when it is warranted.
“I always talk about process and outcomes. I talk about that in wins and losses, that we try not to base things on the outcomes in wins and losses. In this situation, the outcomes are very disappointing. Our process and the things we’ve put in place, I feel very strongly about,” Kirby Smart said. “We do as much or more education than anybody in the country.
“As far as I know, there’s not one team that has ever suspended a player for a traffic violation. That’s what Marcus Rosemy got suspended for. I don’t know that anybody has kicked anybody off the team for that, and we have that. We’re going to continue to be proactive. It’s repeated behaviors that will get you dismissed. Repeated poor behaviors and poor decisions. In some cases we have repeated behaviors. In some cases, we have guys that make mistakes. We’re gonna punish them.”
In addition to suspensions, he shared that players are being fined by the Classic City Collective for off-field incidents. He knows that the arrests and incidents are an issue and is hopeful that they will become a problem of the past soon.
On3’s Matt Connolly also contributed to this report.