Georgia athletic director releases statement on Todd Gurley

The University of Georgia suspended Heisman candidate Todd Gurley on Thursday afternoon pending an NCAA investigation for receiving improper benefits and Bulldogs’ athletic director Greg McGarity released a statement on Friday

Todd Gurley was suspended on Thursday pending the results of an investigation to determine whether he received improper benefits for his role in signing autographs for a broker who ratted out the player he allegedly paid for his signature.

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The Heisman front-runner may never play another down for the Bulldogs and his college career may be over as a result, but Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity and the rest of the administration is supporting Gurley and offering legal counsel as they continue this investigation.

McGarity released a statement on Friday regarding Gurley:

"“I would like to make a few additional comments about yesterday’s announcement regarding the suspension of Todd Gurley.While we have made extensive efforts to gather all relevant facts, this is still an ongoing and obviously sensitive matter involving a student-athlete. Because of federal privacy laws, NCAA rules, and the ongoing nature of this matter, there are limits on what I can say at this time. While we unfortunately cannot get into details, there are a few things I would like to make clear to those who support the University of Georgia.There is currently a lot of misinformation about this matter in the public domain, and many pundits are offering opinions that are based on incomplete or erroneous information.While that is unfortunate and while we can’t control the pundits, I want to assure the Bulldog Nation that from the time this matter arose and continuing through today, University of Georgia personnel have worked tirelessly, making every effort and taking all appropriate steps to support our student-athletes and our coaches and to act in the best interests of the University of Georgia.While the University does not tolerate any violation of NCAA rules, the University has supported and continues to support its student-athletes. As just one example, when this matter arose, the University offered separate legal counsel to Todd; the University recommended — and Todd retained — counsel with vast experience with eligibility matters; and the University continues to pay for Todd’s counsel, as permitted by NCAA rules.We have made clear to Todd that regardless of what happens with this case, he is still a member of the Bulldog family, and we will support him in every way we can.Rest assured the University is continuing its efforts to resolve the eligibility matter as expeditiously as possible and in a manner that is in the best interests of the University, its coaches, and its student-athletes.We will continue our proactive and extensive program of rules education for our student-athletes, coaches, and staff.Because of the ongoing nature of the matter, unfortunately I cannot make any more comments at this time.I encourage the Bulldog Nation to continue to pull together during this difficult time and support all of our coaches and student-athletes as we move forward.”"

It remains to be seen if Gurley will miss more than this weekend’s game against the Missouri Tigers or if he will be able to return at a later point this season. There have been conflicting reports suggesting this could be a 2-3 game suspension while others have reported it could be a season-long suspension.

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