Todd Gurley has been suspended a total of four games by the NCAA for accepting over $3,000 for autographs, the NCAA announced today.
UGA is appealing the four-game suspension and the NCAA will review the case this week.
If the appeal is denied, Todd Gurley will not be eligible to play until their Nov. 15 home game against Auburn. Gurley must also donate to charity and complete 40 hours of community service.
Here is the release from the NCAA:
Todd Gurley, University of Georgia football student-athlete, must sit a total of four games, or 30 percent of the season, for accepting more than $3,000 in cash from multiple individuals for autographed memorabilia and other items over two years. Gurley, who acknowledged violating NCAA rules, must repay a portion of the money received to a charity of his choice and complete 40 hours of community service as additional conditions for his reinstatement. Gurley will be eligible to play on Nov. 15.
In determining the appropriate reinstatement conditions, a 30 percent withholding condition is consistent with precedent in similar cases. Additional withholding was strongly considered because the violations occurred over multiple years with multiple individuals and the student received extensive rules education about the prohibition of receiving payment for autographs. However, the university’s due diligence in its investigation and the student’s full disclosure of his involvement in the violations were factors in not imposing a more severe withholding condition.
The University submitted its original reinstatement request on Wednesday, Oct. 22. The NCAA requested additional information on Friday, Oct. 24, which it received from the university on Saturday, Oct. 25, and Sunday, Oct. 26. The NCAA issued its decision to the university on Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 28.
The university indicated it will appeal the decision. A membership committee which oversees the reinstatement process will review the appeal this week. The committee can reduce or remove the conditions the staff has imposed, but cannot increase them.
On Wednesday, Oct. 22, Georgia released a statement indicating they were submitting the necessary paperwork for Gurley’s reinstatement and that they hoped and expected a “prompt ruling by the NCAA so that Todd, his coaches, and teammates can adequately prepare for our next game.”
Todd Gurley was suspended indefinitely on Oct. 9 for an alleged NCAA rules violation. It was then learned that Gurley had been accused of accepting money for autographs by a memorabilia dealer and that dealer had been shopping the story to various outlets. The next day, ESPN named the memorabilia dealer as Bryan Allen.
UGA has issued the following statement…
Tuesday afternoon the University received the decision from the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement staff regarding the University’s request for the reinstatement of Todd Gurley. The University plans to appeal the decision immediately.
View Comments (8)
The NCAA is the most corrupt hypocritical organization ever. I'm tired of the Dawgs being penalized for infractions and watching other schools (FSU, Auburn, Texas A&M) get away with far more serious infractions!!
I agree the NCAA is a corrupt organization. Why would Todd Gurley II want to continue to play for the #dawgs? Also, why is UGA appealing the four-game suspension? What do they know that we don't? Come on Georgia make a comment!!!
They are just going to appeal for lesser punishment. Appeal will be heard this week per the NCAA, but I wouldn't expect any reduction in penalties.
Hard to see how the NCAA is a corrupt organization based on this case. As outlined in the above statement from the NCAA, Todd was exposed to numerous discussions where these signature rules were conveyed to him. Todd Gurley knowingly and willingly broke the RULES and the guidelines for reinstatement are crystal clear.
This sucks for the rest of the team and us fans, but it is what it is. Nick, Sony and Keith will again be asked to step up in Todd's absence.
Dawgbtye:what a dumb reply. Imagine YOU working for an insitution and them making a ton of money off of you and you can have none of it, but you HAVE to continue to work every saturday??? You're so moral you wouldnt atleast think about trying to cash in on YOUR OWN IMAGE?!?!?! GTFOH
Fred, that's a FALSE straw man and a non-sequitur that the pay-for-play crowd are using to castigate the NCAA in this case. Currently they're mutually exclusive until such time as the rules change.
Let me be perfectly clear: I'm against pay-for-play - PERIOD. Money is THE corrupting factor in amateur athletics and if you're arguing for such as scheme it will ruin college sports. The University of Texas has already shot the first missile across the bow in how pay-for-play will be a corrupting and unsustainable model. This isn't about economic justice or fairness, those are false liberal ideals that have no place in amateur athletics. These kids are already being fairly compensated in the form of generous scholarships.
Dawgbyte: Ed OBanion.
Well aware of the O'Bannon v. NCAA case and my response is that it's not settled law and will most likely be argued before the Supreme Court. I hope the Supreme Court would strike it down and not allow the players to form unions or own their images, likenesses etc. Why? This is NOT professional sports and when a student athlete signs their scholarship papers they knowingly and willingly enter into an agreement recognizing their amateur status. If the "Fairness" people want economic justice for football players then propose a farm league to the NFL for underclassmen, similar to the Major League Baseball farm system.
The problem that is upsetting UGA fans is it appears these rules are not being applied equally. The most graphic case involves Winston at FSU, and Johnny Manzeil, both of whom are and were accused of similar violations. However, caution is the order of the day - we don't know the facts yet in the Winston case. For example, 99.9% of Georgia fans assumed Gurley had only received $400 for signing football related items. Well, we now know the truth - it was over $3,000 and spanned over two years.
Again, this sucks for the team and fans, but Gurley knew the rules and broke them. He is NOT a victim! What I would do or anyone else if we played Div. 1 college football is immaterial.