Yet another University of Georgia athlete on the football team was arrested for reckless driving on Sunday. The initial details of what happened don’t quite compare to prior incidents.
It isn’t adding up— yet!
According to the Athens-Clarke County jail website, wide receiver Sacovie White was arrested on two misdemeanor charges. One is listed as “reckless driving.” The other is listed as “one-way roadway.”
The 19-year-old freshman was booked into the jail at 3:04 a.m. He posted bond of just $26 within 20 minutes of his arrival. White was released exactly one hour after his booking at 4:04 a.m.
Before I continue any further, let me be explicitly clear… I do not know the entire story and will hold my judgement until more details are released.
However, based on what we do know as of this writing, this arrest is another stain on the Georgia football program that should not necessarily be seen that way. The two charges and insignificant bond alludes to a fairly insignificant incident that might not have warranted an arrest.
If alcohol and/or drugs were involved with White’s incident on early Sunday, the charges presumably would have been much greater. That principle also applies to his bond.
White enrolled early to join the Bulldogs for the spring semester and has been in Athens for less than six months. It is very possible that he drove down a one-way street without knowing that it is a one-way street. Maybe he was driving too fast.
Should the unfortunate occurrence be nothing more than making a wrong turn and/or driving slightly over the speed limit, Athens police probably didn’t need to book him. A citation would have sufficed.
Georgia has a bigger issue.
Again, we don’t know what exactly happened with White at this point in time. There could be a lot more to it than the surface-level charges listed on the jail report.
Unless there was a dire circumstance for which he needed to attend, White did not need to be out on the road past two o’clock in the morning. It would have been smart to go home. Stay off of the roads.
The full truth is going to come out with time, but if this incident was simply a misunderstanding, the optics are unfortunate because the Bulldogs have a much bigger issue on their hands. And it directly involves reckless driving.
Offensive lineman Devin Willock and staffer Chandler LeCroy tragically lost their live in an automobile accident in January 2023. Police alleged that Jalen Carter was racing them before the fatal wreck.
In total, at least 14 Georgia football players were charged with moving violations last year alone. A staffer was arrested on charges of reckless driving and speeding less than 24 hours before the season-opener in September. Star transfer running back Trevor Etienne was charged with DUI, reckless driving, failure to maintain lane/improper driving on road and affixing materials that reduce visibility of windows/windshield near the end of March.
All of those things are legitimate cause for concern. Kirby Smart and his staff need to get a handle on the program and its repeated issues with moving violations. This cannot keep happening.
With that being said — White’s incident appears, as of right now, to be a mistake. We may soon find out that it is far worse than it seems. He might be another example of the culture at Georgia.
It is too soon to say. In the meantime, Sacovie White should not be lumped in with the other incidents until we know more about what happened. We will find out!