Docs: UGA staffers routinely drove after drinking
Georgia football recruiting staffers routinely drove rented vehicles after consuming alcohol, according to court documents.
www.espn.com
Football recruiting staffers at the University of Georgia routinely drove rented vehicles after consuming alcohol, according to court documents filed Thursday by attorneys representing a former staffer who was seriously injured in a January 2023 car wreck that killed a Bulldogs player and another staff member.
In an amended complaint filed in state court in Gwinnett County (Georgia), the attorneys also alleged that UGA assistant football coaches used cash to pay for recruiting expenses during unofficial recruiting visits, which could be a violation of NCAA rules.
"My client's iPhone survived the crash fully intact and contains thousands of pages of recruiting texts describing the inner workings of UGA's recruiting activities," Bowles' attorney, Rob Buck, said in a statement to ESPN. "The new texts included in the Amended Complaint establish that the Association was fully aware recruiting staffers were regularly allowed to drive recruits and their families around Athens after drinking alcohol at Association sponsored events. Some texts even show that football coaches and recruiting supervisors, in effect, encouraged staffers to drink with football prospects' families.
"The texts contradict the Association's pleadings and public statements to its fan base. The texts document that the Association knowingly allowed football staffers to drive Association SUVs while drinking even if UGA had policies stating otherwise."
The amended complaint also alleges that Bowles is aware of UGA football coaches using cash in recruiting activities involving unofficial visits. NCAA rules prohibit coaches and staff members from paying for expenses for recruits and their families during unofficial visits, including lodging, meals, entertainment and travel costs.
