As the rest of the SEC judges, scolds and, perhaps, takes joy in watching Georgia rack up yet another serious traffic violation, there is one important thing to remember. Don’t cast stones if you live in a glass house and, in the NIL area, all walls are single pane.
The latest traffic mishap in a long run of troubling incidents on the roads near Athens, Ga, came when Georgia running back Travis Etienne was arrested and charged with multiple crimes, including DUI. This won’t be the last incident involving poor choices with vehicles driven by Georgia football players with speedy rides that Elon Musk would consider extravagant and overpriced. Other schools will likely follow suit, opening the door for their players to take a seat behind a car they’re not ready to drive.
Per the Athens Banner-Herald: “Georgia football players had at least 14 arrests or citations for speeding or reckless driving last year after the Jan. 15, 2023 fatal crash that killed offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandley LeCroy. Police said excessive speed and alcohol played a role in the crash.”
Georgia and every school with substantial NIL money, which certainly includes Tennessee, must be ready for a serious car crash that could cause fatalities, a rash of speed violations or, in Georgia’s case, all of the above. However, the Bulldogs won’t be the last.
It has become almost a rite of passage for highly touted signees at any school to hit up the local, friendly car dealership, probably before they get all their text books. Teenage drivers can now afford vehicles that are made more for speeding than efficiency. Guess which kinds of cars college athletes tend to choose? They aren’t slow.
When most people make a bad car purchase, they may have paid too much or bought a lemon. When a young, rich, college athlete makes a poor car purchase decision, it can easily result in a serious road incident because the cars being bought by most players have an extremely sensitive gas pedal.
There’s nothing the NCAA nor any school can do to curb road incidents by players with plenty of money in the bank. The NCAA has no power over just about anything anymore and an individual school would be raked over the coals in NIL dealings if it took a hard stand on players not owning exorbitant cars.
If someone else can offer much more cash than another school, that school is going to “buy” that prospect and likely have something peppy with a V8 waiting to be picked up.
Poke fun at Georgia all you want. If your school is paying big-time NIL money to college athletes, your players will likely find themselves on the same path – or road – before much longer.
