Georgia RB Washaun Ealey Arrested for Hit-and-Run, Suspended License

Coach Richt, on his way to the DMV with his team, was pulled over for the unauthorized operation of a bus and driving without a commercial driver’s license. The entire team, including Coach Richt, will be suspended for the entire first quarter of the Idaho State game.

I had to go there to get the printout of my driving record when filling out my bar fitness application. (That’s “bar” as in “exam to get into the legal profession,” not “let’s go out drinking in downtown Athens.”)

This is no excuse, but a lot of it stems from the fact that there isn’t enough parking in Athens, so students are going to collect parking tickets. I know I got more than my fair share of them, and the rules are simple: pay the ticket and be done with it, or show up in court to contest it. If you ignore it, neither paying the fine nor showing up on your court date, your license will be suspended and a bench warrant will be issued for your arrest. If you then do something stupid—-such as, say, riding a scooter or emerging from an alley or dinging a parked car—-what ought to have been a minor inconvenience becomes an arrest.

Once again, this is no excuse; I got plenty of parking tickets in Athens, and I just paid the darned things on time and went on with my life. The responsibility is on the players for not taking care of business, although the frequency with which this happens leads me to believe that the coaches and athletics administration need to take a more active role in making sure players are paying their parking tickets (just as they take an active role in making sure players are going to class), but, if you want to know why it happens, I believe that’s why.