Georgia’s Todd Gurley will not face disciplinary action for being in a downtown Athens bar after midnight Saturday where a fracas broke out and he was falsely accused of hitting a man.
A police investigation utilizing witness accounts and surveillance video quickly exonerated Gurley of any wrongdoing or involvement in the late-night skirmish at Bourbon Street Bar & Grill on Broad Street. But Gurley’s mere presence in a downtown watering hole runs counter to team policy during the season.
“I’m not going to tell you the rules we have because then everybody would be like, ‘they’re breaking the rules,’” Georgia coach Mark Richt said during his weekly news conference on Tuesday. “But (Gurley is) not going to have anything punitive on him.”
In the past, Georgia players have said Athens’ bars and clubs are off limits during the season, mainly for the reason that Gurley encountered. Not only is there the danger of them getting into trouble themselves, but there can also be implicated trouble such as the situation Gurley ran into Saturday night.
As a Heisman Trophy candidate and growing celebrity around Athens and beyond, Gurley increasingly attracts attention — usually positive, sometimes negative — whenever he goes out in public. The quiet-spoken Gurley, who turned 20 on August 3, has talked before about how uncomfortable he is with his notoriety. Now it extends well beyond the state of Georgia.
“I think he definitely gets who he is in the public eye and everything,” Richt said. “I think he’s being responsible.”
Gurley has not yet been in position to comment.
About the Author
