The harsh reality for Kirby Smart and Georgia's reckless driving problem

Look. I did not want to write this, but I feel that it is my obligation as a University of Georgia alum to peel back the curtain a bit and reveal what is really going on with the football team's reckless driving issues. I do not condone driving like a jerk, but I did go to school here over a decade ago, and I saw some things. For everyone who wants Kirby Smart to dismiss those who want to drive fast, he cannot.

With SEC Media Days going on this week in Dallas, I am sure this will be brought up by someone in the SEC or national media outside of the UGA beat. Seeing that Smael Mondon Jr. and Bo Hughley were arrested last week on reckless driving charges obviously does not sit well with me. I mean, this is a program that saw two of its own die tragically the night of its last national championship parade...

For as much as everyone wants to point the blame at Smart for allowing this to happen, what good is that going to do? What we actually have here is a perfect storm brewing in Athens. You have the best college football program in the nation, existing inside a massive state university that just so happens to be the No. 1 party school in the country. Throw in racing culture and the ACCPD, and there you go!

Racing culture exists outside of Athens, but Georgia is at the epicenter of it because of the ACCPD.

The complexities that exist for Kirby Smart and Georgia's racing problem

It is not just Georgia where this is a problem. Just look at the NFL. Henry Ruggs III is behind bars. Rashee Rice has a mess of legal issues at hand. Jordan Addison just got a DUI, not to mention that his former Minnesota Vikings teammate Khyree Jackson just passed away tragically because of a drunk driver. I do not know where this need to go fast is coming from, but it is a nationwide issue!

As far as the ACCPD is concerned, that is a whole other can of worms. Anybody who spent time at Georgia knows that it is different there. They are why I never jaywalk, why I always come to a full stop at a stop sign or a traffic light before proceeding. That stuff is ingrained in me some 12 years later. Issues with the police department happened when I was at school when Mark Richt was the coach.

Athens is an amazing college town, but this is its biggest drawback. The university wants you there. The police do not, and I am just going to leave it at that. It is a problem unique to Georgia in and of itself. As far as what Smart can do, he can suspend players for games or half of games, but do you really think he is going to dismiss a player altogether? No, because they are going to go to Auburn.

Seemingly any player who got in trouble under Richt would try to go there or some other school that would love Athens talent. With Georgia being on top of the sport today, as opposed to essentially being a New Year's Six bowl pretender when I was in school, no one is going to care about a player's past indiscretions. If he can help a team win, a program is going to do whatever it takes to sign him.

Again, I hate being put in an awkward spot over this, but maybe I can provide some clarity on what is going on in Athens. In truth, I could be way worse than I imagined. I really do not know. What I do know is Athens is different, and more and more people outside the University of Georgia sphere are starting to find that out. Racing culture issues are simply being amplified at a school like Georgia.

Overall, I do not condone racing, drinking and driving, or anything of that nature where lives could be at stake. Athens is the best college town in the country, as there are millions of things to do to entertain yourself for four or five years before you get your degree. While I do wish for the Georgia players to chill out a bit, I was once stupid 20-something in college at this school. We do not listen...

I can only hope team leaders do the right thing to get their teammates to focus on what is important.