Georgia receiver Colbie Young suspended after arrest
By: Mark Schlabach and Chris Low - ESPN.com
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said Wednesday that wide receiver Colbie Young has been suspended indefinitely from the team following his arrest early Tuesday morning on misdemeanor charges of battery and assault on an unborn child.
Smart said he met with Young on Wednesday morning.
"He's been suspended indefinitely until this legal matter is resolved," Smart said on the weekly SEC coaches teleconference. "We can't really comment any further on the specifics of it, but I had a good meeting with him this morning. We're committed to continuing to educate our players and do the best job we can of making sure they understand the serious nature of these incidents.
"It's very unfortunate, but we want to be responsible in decision-making on and off the field. This is obviously a really tough situation."
Young, from Binghamton, New York, was booked into the detention center at 4:18 a.m. ET and released later Tuesday on $3,800 bond. Young is at least the eighth Georgia football player arrested in 2024, although three of those players -- Trevor Etienne, Smael Mondon and Sacovie White -- either pleaded down or had their driving-related charges dismissed.
Young played two seasons at Miami before joining the Bulldogs in December.
According to an Athens-Clarke County Police incident report obtained by ESPN, a 20-year-old woman, who described herself as Young's ex-girlfriend, told police that she went to his apartment around 12 a.m. ET Tuesday to discuss their relationship.
When the conversation became heated after she discovered he was on the phone with another woman, the complainant said Young "grabbed her left arm near her biceps and triceps and physically pulled her out of his room." The woman said Young was "using derogatory terms and being demeaning of her." She said Young went back to his room and locked the door.
The woman told police she started to collect her belongings when a friend called her phone. When she answered, the woman told police, "Mr. Young came out and grabbed her from behind. She said that he picked her up and began to squeeze her torso and abdomen very hard. She said she felt like [Young] was trying to harm her."
The officer noted in the report that he observed a bruise and discoloration on the bottom of the woman's chest where it meets the abdomen and redness on her right side. The police officer transported the woman to an Athens hospital for treatment.
When the officer interviewed Young, he said he escorted the woman to his front door when the conversation became contentious and denied grabbing her. When the officer asked how the woman suffered her injuries, Young said "it wasn't from him."
"Colbie Young was arrested last night after he asked his ex-girlfriend to leave his apartment," Kim Stephens, Young's attorney, told ESPN on Tuesday. "He did not make physical contact with her in any way that could ever be considered a crime. I expect Mr. Young to be fully exonerated once our investigation is complete and the truth revealed."
The senior receiver had 11 catches for 149 yards with two touchdowns in the No. 5 Bulldogs' first five games. He had three receptions for 51 yards in Saturday's 31-13 victory against Auburn at Sanford Stadium. Georgia coach Kirby Smart, speaking to reporters Tuesday, didn't get into the details of Young's arrest, but said the string of run-ins with the law involving Georgia players has worn on everybody associated with the program.
"When you have 130 17- to 23-year-olds, you're going to have issues," Smart said. "It's not going to be perfect. I certainly recognize we've got to do a better job, but it's hard. It's hard on our staff because we've got really good kids. We've got really good people, man, and our kids go out there, and they have one of the best practices we've had all year on a Tuesday. They're out there competing, working. You just want them to make better decisions as men off the field. And, you know, I take a lot of responsibility for that. It's tough, but that's the cost of leadership.
"You're going to be judged by the people you lead and you've got to stand up and face it and do right by the kids and keep trying to find a better way. I mean, we're constantly trying to find a better way to make a difference, and that's in everything we do in our organization."
Former Bulldogs receiver Rodarius "Rara" Thomas was dismissed from the team Aug. 1 following his arrest on multiple family violence charges. At the time, Smart told reporters, "He can no longer be part of the football team. He understands that. We wish him the best moving forward."
Thomas, a senior from Eufaula, Alabama, was charged with cruelty to children-family violence, a second-degree felony, and two misdemeanor counts of battery-family violence. His case is pending in Athens-Clarke County Superior Court, according to court records.
