Violation won’t alter Patrick’s status

ATHENS — Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity said Monday the lawyer for linebacker Natrez Patrick was correct in saying a probation violation did not fall under UGA athletic department policy.

That would leave open the door for Patrick, a starting inside linebacker, playing for Georgia in the Rose Bowl, rather than incurring a third strike under the school’s drug policy.

The background: Patrick, a junior, was arrested for misdemeanor marijuana possession in Barrow County on Dec. 2. That charge was dismissed late last week. But the arrest triggered a probation violation in Athens-Clarke County, where Patrick had been charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession in October. C.R. Chisholm, the solicitor for Athens-Clarke County, said Friday that Patrick had incurred a positive drug test in the days after the Barrow County arrest, as part of a standard drug test in such cases.

But McGarity said Monday that Billy Healan, who is Patrick’s lawyer, was correct in saying such a probation violation was not applicable to UGA’s drug policy.

“The answer to that is yeah. That is correct,” McGarity said during a conference call with reporters Monday.

Healan, in a news release earlier in the day, did not confirm Patrick’s drug test for probation. Healan’s statement said :“A probation violation is not a violation of the UGA Athletic Association Substance Abuse Policy. This is true under the previous policy and under the policy enacted on September 1,2017. As the University of Georgia Athletic Association is required to follow this policy, Natrez Patrick should remain a member of the University of Georgia football team.”

McGarity, asked about that during the call with reporters, reviewed the statement and again affirmed it.

“His statement is correct. It is true,” McGarity said. “And it would’ve been true under either policy.”

McGarity, in referring to “either policy,” was referring to the fact UGA has revised its substance abuse policy as of Sept. 1.

The penalty structure, however, has not changed: It is still a three-strike policy, with football players serving one game for a fifirst violation, four games for a second violation and dismissal for a third.

Patrick served a four-game suspension midway through this season after the October arrest. A third strike would mean dismissal, but he was practicing Monday.

Co a ch Kirby S mart, addressing the question of Patrick’s status at his Monday news conference, said: “The Athens-Clarke County situation with Natrez is a separate matter, and we’ll address it according to our policy once it’s resolved.”

Patrick has a probation violation hearing scheduled in Athens- Clarke County court Jan. 11. Georgia plays Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, with the winner moving on to the national championship game Jan. 8.

Michel back: Senior tailback Sony Michel has shown no long-term effects from his knee injury in the SEC Championship game.

“Sony has done a good job of pushing through,” said Smart.

Michel enters the playoff ff ff ff ff ffs with 948 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns this season.