ATHENS – Adam Anderson’s lawyer formally asked Georgia to reconsider its suspension of the Bulldogs’ star defensive player.
Steve Sadow, a well-known defense attorney from Atlanta, sent a letter to Darrice Griffin, Georgia senior deputy director of athletics, asking for an “immediate reconsideration of his suspension from the UGA football team.”
“As of now I’ve received no response,” Sadow told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Friday afternoon.
Anderson, a senior outside linebacker from Rome, is under investigation by Athens-Clarke County Police after a 21-year-old woman accused of him of rape Oct. 29. Anderson has not been charged.
UGA Athletic Association policy is that team members charged with felonies be immediately and indefinitely suspended from competition. The No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs play Missouri at noon Saturday. Anderson is a standout player on the Bulldogs’ vaunted defense and leads the team in quarterback sacks.
Neither Griffin nor Athletic Director Josh Brooks responded to requests for comment.
Sadow informed Griffin that he and Anderson met with Kristopher Bolden of UGA’s Equal Opportunity Office to discuss the accusations made against Anderson.
“(Bolden) made it very clear that no determination whatsoever of the legitimacy of the alleged sexual misconduct violation has been made,” Sadow said. “Accordingly, there is absolutely no reason for Adam to be suspended from the football team at this time. A mere allegation of sexual misconduct should not be sufficient to warrant a suspension. Fairness and due process require more.”
Sadow added that “time is of the essence.”
According to the incident report provided by Athens-Clarke police, a woman told them that she went to an Athens residence sometime between midnight Thursday, Oct. 28, and 7 a.m. Friday, Oct. 29, and woke up to “non-consensual” sexual contact with Anderson. The victim reported the alleged crime that afternoon.
Anderson traveled with the Bulldogs to Jacksonville that Friday afternoon and played extensively in their 34-7 win over Florida on Saturday. He was credited with seven tackles and a half-sack. It’s not known whether he would have been aware of the allegations against him at that point.
An Athens-Clarke police representative said Friday that no arrest has been made and that the investigation continues.
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