Help could ensure Patrick’s future

It’s a sad day. But it’s a good day.

It’s a sad day because a young man is struggling.

Natrez Patrick, who had multiple arrests, failed drug tests and related incidents involving marijuana, reaffifirmed the deep and dark hole into which he had fallen. It was learned Thursday that he had failed a drug test for the second time in three weeks, this time for opiates and alcohol.

It’s a good day because a young man is getting help.

Georgia announced Thursday night that Patrick, the Bulldogs’ linebacker, has agreed to enter an inpatient drug treatment program in Augusta. At the very least, it gives the appearance of acknowledgment on his part he has a problem that needs to be addressed and taken seriously. Otherwise, he will lose things far more important than a chance to play college football.

It’s also a good day for Georgia football. I shared concerns last week that coach Kirby Smart and the school’s administration might ignore continuing evidence of Patrick’s problem, ignore his failed drug test that was a part of a probation violation in Athens-Clarke County — which was outside the parameters of UGA’s drug policy — and allow him to play in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 against Oklahoma.

That would’ve been so wrong for both the player and the university. It would’ve placed a football game above Patrick’s health and well-being.

Many fans screamed on social media at the suggestion Patrick should be sidelined. Because, well, “It’s a big game!” Or, well, “It’s only marijuana!”

Never mind that a 20-year-old might be in the throes of drug dependency. Never mind that we’re talking about somebody’s life that extends far beyond four college football seasons, when most of the world stops paying attention.

This shouldn’t have been a time for another social media referendum on the legalization of marijuana. It wasn’t a time for attorneys to look for legal loopholes. It should have been a time for simply looking at a situation and doing what was right.

This was right. Patrick is a bright young man and a good football player. If he takes care of himself, this experience will only enrich his life. Should he learn something in treatment and work a strong recovery program, there’s no reason Georgia shouldn’t allow him to return to school and football next year, if that’s what he wants to do.

The legal side says Patrick didn’t violate Georgia’s third-strike policy and therefore should not be dismissed from the school. But what’s far more important is that if he comes through treatment and keeps doing the next right thing, he would be a terrifific example for so many others in his situation, particularly young adults on a college campus.

And here we note: Georgia did the right thing in 2016 when it suspended defensive lineman Jonathan Ledbetter six games for consecutive alcohol-related arrests, including a DUI. Smart, in his fifirst season as coach, said Ledbetter would receive treatment for a “serious problem.”

Ledbetter has since returned without incident. He played the fifinal seven games last season and all of this year. He has 3½ tackles for loss this season, including a sack in the win over Tennessee. Had his nonfootball issues not been addressed, football and school wouldn’t be here for him today and into the future.

Next season, there’s no reason why Patrick can’t be where Ledbetter is today.

JeffffSchultz