One year later, Evans doesn’t want “to discuss the past”

It’s now been a year since the events that resulted in the abrupt end of Damon Evans’ tenure as the athletics director at Georgia. Here’s my story from Sunday’s papers, and the following is the opening excerpt:

BOSTON - This is where Damon Evans works now. Amidst a conclave of financial buildings and historical landmarks, the man who once had everything, a world away and a year ago, now works in anonymity.

That’s the way he seems to like it.

When he walks around the downtown financial district in Boston, he isn’t likely to see anyone wearing a hat with a red or black “G” on it. He may find that refreshing, or it may remind him of his goal to expand the “G” brand.

Once, before it all came crashing down one night a year ago, Evans ruled over one of the most profitable, popular college sports programs in America. He is an alum of that school, Georgia. It was his dream job, he was young, and he had just received a big raise.

Now he works a couple of blocks down from the church where Samuel Adams helped plan the Boston tea party.

The back story on this is that I was going to be in Boston anyway on vacation, so I looked into whether Evans would be interested in speaking. Understandably he wasn’t.

We did have a brief conversation, and Evans was very polite and friendly. But it was clear he wants to move on.

He has remained in touch with people at Georgia, as the story goes on to mention. That includes his signature hire, men's basketball coach Mark Fox, who told me that Evans has called him to congratulate him after some big wins.