ATHENS -- For the second time this year, a player who transferred from UGA is leveling accusations against Kirby Smart’s football program.
Defensive back Otis Reese, who transferred to Ole Miss after last season, accuses Georgia in a social-media message posted Tuesday night of maintaining a racially insensitive and unsupportive environment. Reese’s Twitter message was addressed to the NCAA, the SEC and SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.
Reese’s allegations follow those leveled by former offensive lineman Cade Mays last month. Now at Tennessee, Mays claimed through an attorney he left because of a “toxic environment” within the Bulldogs' football program.
Both players still seek releases from the SEC to have their eligibility restored so that can play at their new schools this season. Mays' NCAA waiver has been granted, but he awaits SEC approval, which is required of intraconference transfers. Reese said he still awaits word from the NCAA.
Georgia responded to Reese’s accusations Wednesday morning.
“UGA disputes any suggestion that it maintains an unsafe, unsupportive, or racially insensitive environment,” an emailed statement read. “We cannot comment on student-athlete eligibility matters due to federal privacy laws, but we would be happy to share our full response to Otis Reese’s waiver request, if he provides a signed release allowing us to do so.”
Reese has not provided that release.
Smart was asked about Reese’s allegations on the SEC coaches' conference call Wednesday morning.
“I can’t comment to the stuff that is going on with that because it’s still with the NCAA and the SEC,” Smart said. “I think the statement we released earlier is pretty explanatory.”
Smart was asked about Mays’ “toxic environment” allegations in a video-conference call with reporters Tuesday night after the Bulldogs’ practice. This was before Reese’s accusations were posted.
“Well, unfortunately I’m unable to respond to that,” Smart said. “In due time it will play itself out, but it’s not something I’m allowed to comment on.”
Credit: Georgia Bulldogs
Even if Reese were to have his waiver granted by the NCAA, he would still need approval from the SEC office. The conference maintains very strict guidelines, adopted by the presidents of the league’s 14 universities, when it comes to intraconference transfers.
SEC bylaw 14.5.5.1 regarding transferring within the conference states: A transfer student from a member institution shall not be eligible for intercollegiate competition at another member institution until the student has fulfilled a residence requirement of one full academic year (two full semesters) at the certifying institution.
The only waivers to that rule that have been approved involved a coaching change and/or NCAA rules violations, such as two years ago when receiver Van Jefferson was granted immediate eligibility at Florida after transferring from Ole Miss.
The NCAA is expected to vote at its next convention in January on proposed legislation that would provide immediate eligibility for first-time transfers on once during their careers. However, intraconference transfers would still require SEC approval unless internal legislation is also changed.
Sankey, in an interview with Birmingham radio station WJOX on Wednesday, indicated that the rule is not likely to be amended anytime soon.
“There’s a very direct rule that says to transfer from school A to school B in the SEC, they serve an academic year residence,” Sankey said. “There are a set of NCAA oddity exceptions and, then in 2018, our membership created two more: One for grad transfers, and one for individuals on teams that face postseason bans. People can send in waiver (requests) but, you know, one of the questions that should be asked is ... why haven’t our members voted to change that rule? We’re inviting people to campus knowing there’s a clear rule and now everyone points and says, ‘Well, you need to let people out of that rule.’ And one of the questions that’s real is, why is our membership not acted to change? And the answer is because we have to work together. We have to be respectful.”
A few Georgia players, including Kearis Jackson, Eric Stokes and Justin Shaffer, have expressed on social media their support for Reese gaining immediate eligibility under the heading “free my brudda.”
Reese was a 4-star prospect out of Lee County High when he signed with the Bulldogs in 2018. While he primarily played outside linebacker in high school, he came to Georgia as a safety. He played in 11 games and had one start for the Bulldogs as a freshman, finishing with 13 tackles. Last year, he played in all 14 games, primarily on special teams. He recorded three tackles.
Reese indicated in his post that he informed Smart of his intent to transfer on Oct. 4 last year. He said Smart encouraged him to remain through the season to “not let the team down” with the promise of supporting immediate eligibility if Reese did. However, it’s not known if Reese always intended to stay in the SEC.
In his lengthy post, Reese claims to have been pulled over and “harassed” by police on two different occasions. He said he a teammate with whom he was close friends was the victim of a racial epithet directed at him from a white “student-athlete.”
None of Reese’s accusations could be verified. UGA Police said Wednesday it does not have any records on file of incident reports involving Reese. An Athens-Clarke County Police spokesman said the only record of any encounter with Reese was a citation for running a stop sign in 2018 that was forwarded to municipal court for processing.
“That’s all I found,” said Sgt. John Williams, public information officer for Athens-Clarke County. “We do not have any record of him bringing anything to our attention or filing a complaint or inquiry. I would say to him or anybody else, if he thinks he was mistreated or any wrongful action was taken by any of our officers, we welcome and encourage him to step forward and file a complaint or request an inquiry. At this time I have no record of him doing that to this point.”
Following is Reese’s post in its entirety:
It was not my intent to fight this battle publicly. Those who know me best know that's not my nature. However, after months of working with my team through unforeseen times, we are now 4 days away from our first game and there has been no word from the NCAA or SEC. I have learned recently that UGA has opposed my waiver which is unfortunate considering what I was told when I attempted to leave last year.
The reason I chose to transfer is because my 1 ½ years at UGA took a devastating mental toll on me. From my first moments I stepped on Campus, it was not what I expected, The Racist events that I kept experiencing weighed on me heavily and seemed never ending.
Then when I chose to leave the team, I was led to believe by Coach Smart that if I finished the season and not "Let my team down" as he requested, he would support both my decision to transfer and my request to be immediately eligible. (The NCAA has a text message from myself to Coach Smart which verifies my intent to leave on Oct 4th of last season, in which I was manipulated to play the very next day, when I truly was at my darkest moment.)
When I was a student-athlete at UGA, I was pulled over and harassed by police officers, not once but twice. The first time I was driving alone and the second time I was a passenger in my teammate's car. On both occasions the officers were extremely aggressive, accusing us of using drugs and searching the car without any basis and told us they would take us to jail. This type of harassment was a constant discussion around players throughout my time at UGA as many of my teammates were falsely arrested and harassed.
Both of my times I was polite, respectful and compliant, but both these experiences left me shaken. I received tickets & citations. (Upon request of Body Cam footage from the Athens police we were told that none existed.)
One of my closest friends and teammates was called a n***** by a white student athlete. Another group of white classmates mocked slavery and pretended to whip each other. These were two very public events. I didn't want to be part of a campus where my classmates held that kind of hate in their hearts. None of these things were ever addressed by the coaches at UGA. There was literally nobody to speak to about these types of things without having fear of losing your position on the team.
Coach Kiffin and Ole Miss have been strong advocates against racism and have put in the work to change perceptions. I've seen first-hand what genuine commitment to change looks like in Oxford and I'm excited to be a part of this program. If I was permitted to leave when I attempted last year, I would be eligible to play right now.
Added to the fact that this season is essentially a free year for all student athletes with no loss of eligibility, I cannot understand why I am being forced to sit back while my teammates are preparing for our first game.
All I am asking for is what is fair and be given the opportunity to take the field this season with my brothers.
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