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Kirby Smart defends program culture for Georgia Football

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•03/03/23•

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Kirby Smart
(Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Georgia Football’s culture has been called into question of late. With an offseason that has included multiple arrests and a tragic car crash that could have been avoided, the Bulldogs have frequently been in the news for the wrong reasons. However, head coach Kirby Smart wouldn’t go as far as to call it a problem.

“Absolutely not. I would say we’re far from it,” Smart told ESPN’s Mark Schlabach in an article published Friday afternoon. “When you talk to people outside our program that come into it, they talk about what a great culture we do have — and we do an incredible job. Because I’ve got a lot of outside entities that come into our program and pour into these young men.”

“Do we have perfect young men and women and players? Not necessarily,” he continued. “But I promise you this, that’s the intent: for us to grow these guys and get them better. And I feel really good about the culture within our program.”

Smart’s interview with ESPN is the first since the incidents of January 15th when offensive lineman Devin Willock and support staffer Chandler LeCroy died in a car crash. LeCroy was operating the vehicle, a University of Georgia rented Ford Expedition, under the influence. According to a toxicology report that became public this week, her blood alcohol content at the time of the crash was .197. Meanwhile, former defensive lineman Jalen Carter was arrested for misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing in connection with the crash. Rising junior linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson was also arrested this offseason for the same charges on a different occasion, both of which occurred less than a week after the Bulldogs won their second straight National Championship.

“Heartache,” Smart said about the night of the accident. He was at home sleeping at the time when he was awoken by his wife to the news. “Got a call at 3 or so in the morning. Went immediately to the emergency room. Probably one of the toughest moments I’ve ever experienced as a coach and a leader to see the pain in the faces of the players who had joined up at the emergency room that morning. [Athletics director] Josh Brooks was there. You know, [I] still remember the ER doctor telling me the news, and just one of the most painful experiences of my life.”

“Inside our building, we’ve got 130 football players that are hurting and have been dealing with pain. And we’ve emotionally supported those guys’ mental health,” he continued. “We had several players that struggled to come back after the parade that have really dealt with this. It’s been a tough, trying time for our family, our in-house family, both staff and players. And we continue to support both the Willock and Chandler families.”

Smart said it was not LeCroy’s responsibility to get players home the night of the crash and added that no policy changes needed to be made as a result of the crash. In fact, the Bulldogs brought in officers from both the UGA Police Department and Athens-Clarke County Police department last summer to educate players about the dangers of street racing.

“I mean, there [are] laws in place for these things, to prevent it for a reason,” Smart said. “And we want to educate our players in every way, every part of our organization. We’re constantly looking for a better way in whatever that is, health and safety included. I talked about drugs and alcohol, talked about gambling, talked about racing in cars and high speeds. You have to educate your players and you have to make sure they understand the risks and dangers of that, and that’s something that we’ve tried to do.”

Georgia is set to begin spring practice on March 14.

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