ROWE: Georgia culture won't be rattled by criticisms and neither should you

One thing I’ve learned this offseason is that it’s really odd to read or listen to people talk about culture without little more than a surface knowledge. I’ve also learned that it’s even weirder to see a culture, like the one at Georgia, turn from incredible strength to questionable, at best, based on the off-field behavior of primarily players who are no longer in the program.

Spring practice begins tomorrow and the plan was to leave this aspect of the offseason, at least as it comes to written content alone. Why bother, right?

But I don’t think a single thing that has happened this offseason is cause for concern when it comes to the culture in place at Georgia. I’ve said that on our various platforms in different ways, but over the weekend it kind of hit me that if I’m going to spell it out, I had better do it before spring practice gets rolling.

I don’t want to recap what has happened because we all know what that entails as it relates to sadness and tragedy. I’m not here to defend Jalen Carter, either. He and his lawyers will deal with the legal system and the top-flight NFL prospect will have to answer dozens of questions about the incident in the coming weeks.

Then we have the arrest of Jamon Dumas-Johnson on the same charges — reckless driving and racing. We have a repeat issue here and it goes back even further when you consider the Carter traffic stop during the season. Add to it the officer’s comments about UGA players slowing down during that traffic stop, and the speeding/racing/reckless driving is a concern.

But it’s a concern for every young male in America. Have you ever had to pay auto insurance for a male under the age of 25? Why do you think that premium is so high? That’s not an excuse. No one is saying, “let boys be boys.” But I am saying that it’s not an issue unique to Georgia football players. If you’ve got a proven method for how to get young men to drive safer, bottle it up and sell it. I’ll take a 5 percent cut for the idea and live the rest of my life on a yacht.

But back to the Bulldog offseason read off.

Rara Thomas, after less than a month at Georgia, got himself in hot water with a domestic battery issue. He seems to be in position to get it worked out. We’ve seen UGA deal with issues like this before and dismiss players pretty quickly. Based on that, it appears as if there was something different this time around.

Then there’s the Stetson Bennett run in with Dallas Police. That one is more funny than anything. An over-served guy in an unfamiliar city with no phone wondering around and knocking on doors. Police say they picked him up as much for his own safety as anything else. I’m not saying it’s a good thing and it’s not going to help his draft stock but come on.

Yet Georgia has taken it in the teeth because some have made sure of it. I’m not going to bristle and say that anyone was waiting on the opportunity. It would be unfair for me to criticize the critics based on their lack of real knowledge about Georgia’s culture then turn right around and pretend to know what they’re thinking.

But regardless of who says what or how they say it, the way Georgia has been covered this offseason, with everything that has gone on, shouldn’t come as a surprise. I don’t agree with a lot of it, but you shouldn’t be shocked.

This is exactly how the air moves at the top of the mountain. Everything gets magnified and covered differently. Those who have a platform to share their opinion and fancy themselves as opinion shapers are racing to find the loose thread. Whether they’re the ones to pull it and cause everything to unravel or not, they found it first. They’ll remind you of it, too.

But platform or not, much like my previous point about young men and driving tendencies, this is a human thing. Fans scrutinize, too, just not your own team. You’d be doing the same if it was Alabama or Ohio State or insert school here. I know this because I watched it when the Bulldogs’ current, beloved head coach was persona non grata as the defensive play caller in Tuscaloosa.

Every single off-field incident, whether that player was still at Alabama or had moved on to the next level, was highlighted and hammered to the point of tenderization. You did it, I saw you, and I rolled my eyes then. I’m rolling my eyes at others now.

Georgia players need to slow down and drive safer. I’ve said it and now I’ll write it, but if I’m Kirby Smart, I’m sitting Dumas-Johnson down and I’m telling him that he’s the conduit for which a message is about to flow through. I’m getting with my staff and I’m discussing how long of a suspension needs to be handed down — not because Dumas-Johnson is a bad person but because it can only help. Dumas-Johnson is a respected emotional leader for the program.

Chandler LeCroy and Devin Willock losing their lives should put an end to the reckless behavior on the roads but there’s zero downside to Smart going a step further and issuing a double tap. We should all learn from other’s mistakes more than we do. Tragedy should teach us more than it does. Doing more in this situation isn’t going to hurt a thing.

But I’m also not the type to get after someone when they don’t take my advice. If Dumas-Johnson trots out there as a starting inside linebacker against UT-Martin in game one, I’m not going to lambaste Smart. I probably won’t say anything.

Just like I’m probably not going to say anything to anyone reading this story if you don’t take this next piece of advice. Get used to it. As long as Georgia is doing what it has for the past two years, any and all incidents are going to be seen as evidence of systemic fault — by a vocal minority, no less.

Strong cultures are incredibly tough to disrupt.