Adams: I've challenged football staff on arrest issue

University of Georgia president Michael Adams said he spoke within the last couple of weeks with the entire athletics department, including the football staff, about the number of arrests of players.

Nine Georgia football players have been arrested this year, including two in the past month.

“They don’t like it any more than I do,” Adams said. “And I think they’ll deal with it. You’re dealing with 19-year-olds. We have more in the general student population than I would like. We’ve had too much in the football program. We expect coaches and the A.D.s to provide role models and leadership for their players. And I told the whole athletic association that.”

Adams said there are three basic rules: Follow NCAA and SEC guidelines, go to class, and stay out of trouble.

”You don’t have to be Phi Betta Kappa. But you have to do those three things to play here,” Adams said. “We expect people to represent us in a positive fashion on and off the field. That’s not an unrealistic expectation.”

And what could the athletic staff do to stop the rash of arrests?

“I don’t tell them how to do their jobs and they don’t tell me how to do mine,” Adams said. “I think the message there is very clear.”