Georgia’s spring football practice started on a sour note Tuesday as four Bulldogs players were booked in jail on theft charges 18 hours before the first workout.
Starting safety Tray Matthews, wide receiver Uriah LeMay and defensive linemen James DeLoach and Jon Taylor each was arrested by UGA Police on multiple charges of theft by deception.
Georgia coach Mark Richt, who hadn’t made a statement on any disciplinary action the players may face, was greeted by a throng of media after the first practice session concluded Tuesday evening. He remained non-committal about what tact he’ll take.
“I would just say there’s always a process that I go through before I make a decision,” Richt said. “Sometimes it happens rapidly, and sometimes it doesn’t. I’m not going to say anything other than if there’s something I need to report to everybody, I will.”
Three of the players are accused of depositing athletic association-issued checks on their mobile phone banking apps, then taking the checks to a local convenience store for cashing immediately afterward, according to police. LeMay was retrieving a roommate’s already-processed check and cashing it at a convenience store, police said.
The players were arrested Monday night and booked into the Athens-Clarke County Jail. LeMay was charged with four counts of theft by deception, Matthews three and DeLoach and Taylor two each. Each count required a $1,500 bond, and each player was released by 10:30 p.m. Monday.
UGA’s code of conduct for student-athletes stipulates that discipline for a misdemeanor arrest is dispensed at the discretion of the head coach.
“You’re disappointed, obviously,” Richt said. “You’re disappointed. You have to decide, start deciding what you’re going to do about it. At Georgia, we’ve never tried to hide things. If somebody makes a mistake, we clean it up. We don’t hide it. In due time, everyone’s going to know what’s going to happen because of it.
“Some things when it comes to discipline are very public, and some things aren’t. I’m not sure exactly where this is going to fall. If there’s something that we need to let everybody know, we’ll let y’all know.
The discrepancies were brought to the attention of police by the UGA Athletic Association, which discovered the fraud through its routine accounting practices.
“Their financial division noticed that these checks were being processed twice,” UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said Tuesday morning. “I got contacted by a senior administrator from the athletic association about the matter to file an official report and investigate. They get audited, and they … need to document all this so it wouldn’t appear as though the athletic association had anything to do with it.”
Williamson said the amount of the checks was $71.50 each, bringing the total amount of the fraud to $786.50. Student-athletes often receive payments from the athletic department as compensation for or reimbursement for regularly provided services, such as meals or lodging.
In the meantime, all four players are/were expected to play a significant role next season. Matthews is expected to start at safety. DeLoach is considered one of Georgia’s better strongside outside linebackers; Taylor is expected to compete for the starting job at nose guard; LeMay is competing for playing time at wide receiver.
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