All is not well in the Spurrier kingdom. Black DE suspended, black Freshman RB being investigated.
http://msn.foxsports.com/cfb/story/9977860/Spurrier-suspends-starting-DE-after-arrest
On Monday, Spurrier suspended starting defensive end Clifton
Geathers following his Sunday morning arrest by Columbia police for
fighting outside a nightclub. Geathers was charged with public
drunkenness, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, police spokesman
Brick Lewis said.
Geathers, a junior from Georgetown, is the
brother of Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Robert Geathers Jr. and the
nephew of former NFL standout Jumpy Geathers.
"We are
disappointed in the actions of Clifton Geathers the other night,"
Spurrier said in a statement. "He has been suspended indefinitely from
the team until all the facts come in."
One of Spurrier's most
promising freshman, tailback Jarvis Giles, also was involved in a
dispute Sunday with a woman in a dorm lobby. Security called campus
police, and Giles and his companion told authorities it was a
misunderstanding, university spokeswoman Margaret Lamb said.
No arrests were made, and Lamb said police are still investigating.
Spurrier
was aware of Giles' situation, but has not yet addressed it, athletic
spokesman Steve Fink said. Still, it was a jarring double-body blow for
a team Spurrier has praised for its upgraded attitude and attention to
the things it takes to succeed in the SEC.
Spurrier pointed to
Giles and two other freshmen, Stephon Gilmore and Devonte Holloman, who
enrolled in January, excelled in class, and put pressure on older
players to step up their games or get left behind. "We haven't had that
before," Spurrier said last month.
What Spurrier has had the past two seasons is his share of headaches away from the field.
This
year's starting quarterback, Stephen Garcia, entered the past two
seasons off lengthy suspensions because of three run-ins with the law.
Between the end of the 2007 season and September 2008, the Gamewieners
had eight players suspended.
South Carolina athletic director
Eric Hyman and other administrators fought bad behavior through
mandatory seminars for first-year athletes like Giles, where
prosecutors, judges, attorneys and police discussed consequences for
poor decisions and illegal actions.
Those efforts seemed to make
a difference this offseason, with only defensive lineman Ladi Ajiboye
and defensive back C.C. Whitlock suspended after arrests. Ajiboye
entered a diversion program after his marijuana arrest and faces a
three-game suspension. Whitlock was accused of trespassing at a club, a
charge he was found not guilty of by a magistrate judge.
Columbia
police say Geathers kept swinging his arms and pulling away while
officers tried to restrain him. The player had a strong odor of alcohol
on him and slurred his speech, according to the police report. Geathers
was detained for about seven hours Sunday before he was released on
bond.
Lewis did not know if Geathers had an attorney.
With
Ajiboye already out, losing Geathers for the Sept. 3 opener at North
Carolina State â€" and perhaps Sept. 12 at Georgia â€" would leave the
Gamewieners short-handed on the line, an expected strength for South
Carolina this season.
The 5-foot-11 Giles, a former Tennessee
commitment, figures to add a potential home-run hitter to a running
attack that finished last in the SEC a year ago.
Spurrier had
said last month that his five new assistants and a new strength coach
had built a stronger commitment with players. That, he said, led to
fewer non-football problems.
"Well, when players do what they're expected to do, you don't have many off the field situations," the coach said.
