Richt on Robinson, Taxi Controversies

Richt on the Montez Robinson situation:

On the decision to dismiss Robinson...
“Montez had some things he knew he had to do, disciplinary-wise. Then there were some things he knew he couldn’t do if he wanted to stay. There’s some things I was expecting, there’s some things the Association was expecting, there’s some things the university was expecting, and the law for that matter. And he wasn’t able to live up to that. That’s why he is where he is now.”

On his feelings about what happened...
“I’ll say this about Montez – I really love that kid. I really do care very much about all the guys at Georgia, whether they’re on scholarship or a walk-on or whatever it may be. And when we sign a kid at Georgia and he becomes one of ours, I feel like it’s my responsibility to help him grow up into a man, and hopefully realize all his dreams athletically and academically, too. I take it seriously trying to help these guys make it in life. Some guys have farther to go than others, and if a guy makes a mistake or even a couple, you try like mad to find a way to keep them in the fold and hope that they can learn from it and become better for it in the end. But there are times when a guy does enough where he’s lost the privilege to play for Georgia, which is where Montez is at right now. But do we still care about him? Yes. Do we still want to make sure he lands somewhere where he can continue on and finish strong? If we remember Michael Lemon’s situation, Michael went through some things, and he got to the point where he couldn’t stay at Georgia. But we helped him get into junior college at Georgia Military College and he did a good job there. I’m thankful that Coach Bert Williams gave him a chance and when he left there, he was able to say this kid deserves another opportunity. I’m very thankful for Coach O’Brien to take a chance, because he had to stick his neck out a little bit to get him in there at NC State. But from what I hear, the kid is doing fantastic, and he’s got a chance to realize all the dreams he had. Even though he’s not here, we think about him and we want him to succeed, and we feel the same way about Montez.”

On his visit with Robinson in prison...
“He’s just hurting. He’s suffering right now. But we’re helping him understand that he can still have a bright future if from this point forward he does what he’s supposed to do, what he needs to do. He still has the goal of getting an education. He still has the goal of playing college football. And so I don’t think he’s been robbed of that opportunity. It’s just not going to be at Georgia. But he loved it at Georgia.”

Richt on the taxi situation:

On the eventual outcome...
“I’m just glad that it all came out and that none of our guys were a problem. The only gentleman involved in it was a peacemaker. The thing that’s hard to take is just all the time and speculation and everybody just assuming it was our guys and assuming they would do these things.”

On any feelings of vindication...
“I just hope that as much time as everybody spent reporting that, I hope they spend as much time reporting that it was not our guys, and if anything, somebody was trying to help out some people that needed help. But I just learned that’s part of the way things are.”