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Humphrey kicked off Georgia team following arrest

Associated Press
Originally published 01:28 a.m., June 28, 2008
Updated 01:28 a.m., June 28, 2008

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia coach Dennis Felton dismissed starting guard Billy Humphrey from the team on Friday following Humphrey’s third arrest in less than a year, his second on alcohol-related charges.

The 20-year-old Humphrey was charged with DUI, failure to maintain his lane and the underage purchase of alcohol and taken to the Gwinnett County jail early Tuesday.

Humphrey, a rising senior, was the team’s second-leading scorer last season.

“I am disappointed in Billy,” Felton said. “We’ve worked really hard with him in the past to see that he succeeds, but I feel that it’s now best for our program to move forward without him.”

Police found a half-filled bottle of rum in Humphrey’s car when he was stopped on Georgia Highway 316. According to the officer’s incident report, Humphrey’s eyes were “bloodshot and very watery.”

According to the report, Humphrey tested for a .082 blood alcohol content during the traffic stop, followed by a .129 at the Gwinnett County Jail.

Humphrey told the officer “Please, please, please, I am begging you not to do this,” according to the police report. “You will ruin my career.”

Humphrey was arrested in Athens in January and suspended by Felton for three games afer he was charged with underage possession and failure to obey a traffic device as a pedestrian.

He also had a November arrest when University of Georgia police found a knife with a blade longer than two inches in his dormitory room. He was required to perform 80 hours of community service and was placed on probation for 18 months.

Humphrey, a 6-foot-2 guard from Dacula, Ga., played in 30 games last season, including 28 starts, and averaged 12.2 points. He helped lead Georgia to the Southeastern Conference tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

© 2008, The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

       37 Comments

Posted by nicksjuzunk on June 28, 2008 at 4:39 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Took me to the third paragraph to realize it wasn't college football. You know where my mind is!

Posted by threehundredbowler on June 28, 2008 at 6:29 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Humphrey begged the police to not ruin his career.Seems to me he ruined his career all by himself,not the police.He had three chances and failed .What more could he have asked for? Many of you see no harm in drinking or smoking a little MJ in moderation.If you can do so at home and stay off the road more power to you.The thing is,ever alcoholic and drug abuser started with that first drink or that first joint.No,the police did not ruin Humphrey's career.If his career is indeed ruined,he did so himself.Don't put your life or the life of someone else at risk.Don't use alcohol or drugs and drive.We only have a short time on this beautiful earth.Please do not shorten your life or mine needlessly.Think about it.

Posted by pdhuff on June 28, 2008 at 6:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

threehundredbowler 6:28- Amen.

Posted by vols76 on June 28, 2008 at 7:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Right, as soon as they said he was the leading scorer, I think how can a lineman be a leading scorer......Football should be the only thing we a talking about this time of the year. Put this on the last page of the sports page and only give it 2 lines......Go Vols

Posted by H1Gator on June 28, 2008 at 7:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)

too bad he wasn't the kicker for the vols, he would still be on the team!

Posted by rusty_shackleford on June 28, 2008 at 8:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

All too typical today, "....I am begging you not to do this." Hey, goobers (of all ages, BTW), YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF! Grow up and take responsibility for your own actions!!!

And for all the Fulmer-hating Adamites, take a look at how many chances UGA gave this kid. Looks about the same to me. The difference I can tell is that UT handles these problems internally and outside the public eye, which pisses off all of the "need to know" voyeurs.

Posted by tngeoff on June 28, 2008 at 8:17 a.m. (Suggest removal)

pdhuff.

I'll second that. Very well said threehundredbowler. Since a few have brought football into this, I have to say that I am still extremely impressed at how our football team has stopped the nonsense that was happening earlier in the year with the KPD Police Blotter. BIG TIME CONGRATULATIONS AND KEEP IT UP!

Posted by nola_vol on June 28, 2008 at 8:40 a.m. (Suggest removal)

"...Football should be the only thing we a talking about this time of the year. Put this on the last page of the sports page and only give it 2 lines..."

Well, actually, there is some "makes-you-proud-to-be-a-Vol" logic at work here:

The subject of the first story posted on this webpage [as of 8 a.m. this morning] was what Tennessee's basketball coach is doing this off-season (working with the best qualified players to put on a world stage next year--following their time in worship).

The subject of the second story was what the Georgia basketball coach is doing this off-season (ending work with a player now dis-qualified to put on UGA's remote stage this year--following his time in jail).

The reward of success is the opportunity to work with people of character, though there are a few successful coaches who have chosen to work with players who need help to develop character.

I'm betting that Pearl, if he can establish "character" as the standard for his Vol teams, will still choose to bring in at least one "character-project" each recruiting class. I think that's just part of his character.

Posted by RichRollin on June 28, 2008 at 9:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)

300bowler and pdhuff both said it best. H1Gator, you don't have a leg to stand on here boy! Your gators are the only ones that can make the Bama thugs look bad. Breaking into an impounding lot at 3A.M. just to have your captain status stripped, WHAT?!?! Don't get me started on your boy that used the dead girls gas card!!!! HMMMM?! Let's not mention the fact that your gator boys are down to send hot A.K. slugs through the air at any given point and time.

Posted by richvol on June 28, 2008 at 9:52 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Or the defensive tackle Meyer suspended for several weed violations...except for the Tennessee game.

Posted by GerryOP on June 28, 2008 at 9:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)

300bowler, pdhuff and rusty-shack...

The era of responsibility ended on May 11, 1993. Don't know what caused it but that was the date. Since then, people decided it was more important to spend their time finding someone else to blame and making up excuses for their mistakes rather than standing up and taking responsibility for their actions.

Fully agree that people should be given a chance ... but ... fool me once, shame on you -- fool me twice, shame on me.

Posted by tngeoff on June 28, 2008 at 10 a.m. (Suggest removal)

GerryOP.

Good post.

Posted by golfballs03 on June 28, 2008 at 10:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)

this is too bad. I like Felton, I hope he can maintain some decent teams while he's at Georgia

Posted by DenmarkVol on June 28, 2008 at 10:38 a.m. (Suggest removal)

ARE YOU READING THIS, COLQUITT???

Posted by sjt18 on June 28, 2008 at 11:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Where on earth is Adams?

I think Fulmer passed this kid after a basketball game and.... BAM!!! here he is in trouble. The disease is spreading. Get on the bandwagon early and blame Fulmer now... makes as much sense as blaming him for what former players do several years after leaving the program, doesn't it?

Posted by stroker on June 28, 2008 at 11:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)

tngeoff you better knock on wood. However the the congratulations part is okay

Posted by TommyJack on June 28, 2008 at 11:42 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Bashing Adams. Talk about hackneyed topics.

Posted by powellvoter on June 28, 2008 at 11:46 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Maybe this will be the jolt he needs to get his life in order. I hope he can learn from this and get straight.

Posted by Ironcity on June 28, 2008 at 12:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I understand the move by the coach and I understand he had three chances but he got arrested because a butterfly knife was found in his dorm room when a search was conducted (looking for drugs of his roommate). He was arrested for walking in front of a car when he registered .03 for alcohol police took him in recently. Personally I feel sorry for the kid, He seems more guilty of being plain unlucky then anything else.

Posted by rockyknox on June 28, 2008 at 12:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

ADAMS: UGA basketball needs a change at the top

Posted by WorkinLikeHeck on June 28, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)

H1Gator is right...Humphrey would still be on the team if he was our punter. Hey Foolmore!

Posted by rockyknox on June 28, 2008 at 12:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)

When is Johnny boy going to give us his opinion about the other coaches in the SEC? Does he only have an opinion about the UT football coach?

Posted by murrayvol on June 28, 2008 at 12:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Ironcity: Points taken on the first two strikes but not the third. Unlucky is drawing to an inside straight and missing. Getting behind the wheel of a car when you're in .08 territory has nothing to do with luck.

FWIW do you know what it takes to blow a .08. Borrow a breathalizer from your local law enforcement unit and try it sometime. For me it's about six 1.5 oz. shots in less than an hour. I can't imagine driving a car in that condition. Hell, I'd have trouble opening the garage door.

Posted by tngeoff on June 28, 2008 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)

stroker.

I'll be knocking for sure! So far so great though!

Posted by BAMABLOWS on June 28, 2008 at 2:43 p.m. (Suggest removal)

maybe he will transfer to tenn

Posted by BAMABLOWS on June 28, 2008 at 2:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)

seriously i feel bad for felton ,good coach but a lot of probs at georgia. nothing seems to work out for this guy, maybe he needs to get a lil tougher on his players i dont know.

Posted by bricker865 on June 28, 2008 at 3:11 p.m. (Suggest removal)

He would probably NOT still be on our football team if he did that same stuff. If his last name was Colquitt or maybe even Banks it would be a different story.

Posted by marinevol on June 28, 2008 at 3:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)

John Adams, how foolish do you feel now?

Posted by Oenoboy on June 28, 2008 at 8:34 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I'm with Iron City. I do not condone drinking and driving but .08 is pretty much borderline intoxication and those first two brushes with the law seem petty. It does appear however that he was drinking right before he got stopped considering he blew a .129 at the station so he definitely deserved to go to jail. I am not saying Felton made the wrong decision, I just feel bad for the kid.

murrayvol, you are either talking about .18 or else you have some kind of freakish tolerance. A blood alcohol level of .08 for most people comes from consuming three normal drinks (be it a beer, a glass of wine, or a cocktail) within a 1 to 1.5 hour period depending on their size and metabolism.

Posted by FishTacos on June 28, 2008 at 10:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)

Layoff Adams for a minute. Maybe John was just testing the waters with his Fulmer article to see how Tennessee Fans really felt about their coach. Personally, I think it was pretty gutsy and not all of it was hogwash. Adams made some good points in that article. I guess some Tennessee fans are okay with 8-4 seasons and the occasional lucky shot at losing the SEC title. Too many Breakdowns, Stay the Course.

Posted by BillVol on June 29, 2008 at 12:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Another reason UGA is fortunate to have Dennis Felton.

Posted by marinevol on June 29, 2008 at 9:19 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Citizen, one of the best points Adams made was that if a player gets in trouble while in the NFL, 4 or 5 years after college, you should fire his college coach. His article had nothing to do with the 10-4 (not 8-4) season or the "lucky shot at losing the SEC title" (whatever that means). Did you even read the article?

Posted by marinevol on June 29, 2008 at 10:50 a.m. (Suggest removal)

Thanks for the info, tngeoff. Uga will be missed. I'm sure Smokey will be attending the funeral. From what I understand, they were actually pretty good friends off the field, and shared mutual respect for each other. Supposedly, Uga never really recovered from the beat-down in Knoxville last year.

Posted by tngeoff on June 30, 2008 at 9:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)

marinevol.

You may have hit the nail on the head about the beat down. That probably broke his heart. Hope you're well and back in Knoxville.

Posted by orange4ever on June 30, 2008 at 10:31 p.m. (Suggest removal)

I hate it for the kid;nothing he done really stands for dismissal,(DUI a suspension)it just seems to me its just some arrogant cop showing what authority they have.I wish they could be held accountable everytime they break the law; especially for speeding.

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