You won’t believe it, but Georgia football has made headlines again for all the wrong reasons. In one of the most peculiar legal anomalies in recent sports history, the Bulldogs continue to get into trouble for driving-related issues.
On Thursday, UGASports.com reported that Bulldogs’ wide receiver NiTareon “Nitro” Tuggle was arrested by Clarke Country police on misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and speeding.
Tuggle isn’t the first incident to happen after the AJC’s report, as defensive back Daniel Harris also made headlines after he was arrested and booked in Clarke County Jail after being clocked at 106 mph in a 65 mph zone. He was also charged for failure to wear a seatbelt, driving an unregistered vehicle with no license, no proof of insurance, and illegal tint on his windows.
In fact, Tuggle wasn’t even the lone player suspended on Thursday for driving-related issues, as offensive lineman Marques Easley was also suspended indefinitely after allegedly crashing his car into a garage at the Athens Ridge apartment complex.
“ATHENS, Ga. — Nitro Tuggle and Marques Easley have been suspended indefinitely from all team activities. There will be no further comment.”
When looking at these incidents in a vacuum, it seems like college-aged kids just making stupid mistakes. However, when you take a step back and look at everything going on within the program over the last couple of offseasons, it’s fair to wonder where the communication failure is.
Last summer, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Georgia football players were involved in a total of 24 driving-related incidents since January of 2023. Of course, it all began with a fatal accident that claimed the lives of UGA offensive lineman Devin Willock and football staffer Chandler LeCroy.
Now, with these two arrests and subsequent suspensions, there have been no less than 26 separate driving-related incidents involving Georgia football players in the last two years.
