Josh Petty pleads guilty

[ChristoGT]

How sharp a spoon were you at 18? I almost got booted from Tech before I started for drinking at FACET and then going to the Luau. I was about 2 weeks past my 18th birthday. Here we are 38 years and 2 degrees later, and I finally escaped Dean Moore's secret probation.

Wait. . . huh? You couldn't drink at FACET??!! I guess I caused that rule to be put in place.

 

[john813]

Disappointing.

Hopefully, he learns from this and focuses on football and academics.

 

[Northeast Stinger]

Alabama player just suspended from program. There are always details that go beyond just the basic facts that are in the public reports.

Fun to speculate about how Alabama handles discipline vs how Tech handles it vs how Georgia handles it but, other than saying uga has more discipline problems than either of the other two programs, we can’t say too much.

Hopefully, this thread will die down until we get more information.

 

[IslandsofGaunilo]

You know zero facts about what actually happened. Very knee-jerk reaction.

I'm not saying that what happened couldn't have been at the level warranting moving on, but from the limited information in the article, I'm not seeing any basis for kicking the kid to the curb. I also don't see any correlation to what has been going on in Athens. Doesn't seem that he was racing or driving erratically. We know absolutely nothing about what the felony charges that were dropped were, nor the basis for the charges or their being dropped.

You’re right that I don’t know every detail, but none of us do, including you. All we can go by is what is publicly available: seven initial felony charges, a plea down to two misdemeanors, and confirmation of narcotics paraphernalia and speeding. That alone is unacceptable for a GT athlete who is, for better or worse, emblematic of our new push to compete in P4 football. The point is that what we already know reflects very poor judgment, which is inconsistent with the standards I thought GT football was about.

 

[IslandsofGaunilo]

It's a weed pen. Weed is decriminalized in Atlanta and Athens, just a fine and most the time not even that. Sounds like he just got stopped in between the two for speeding and had an overzealous cop try to hit him with as many things as he could try.

This may come as a surprise to you, but lots of Georgia Tech football players have smoked weed over the years, probably the majority even in the last 25 years. They just didn't always get caught.

How many other active (not former) GT football players have been charged with felonies? I can't recall many. (Reuben Houston for sure and Robert Hall, maybe?) I also recall the Mills fiasco, which was unfortunate and unfair. This is not a Mills situation. Mills was never arrested or hit the headlines. I don't care about what they do in private. But once it’s public, as it is in this case, it reflects on the program.

 

[IslandsofGaunilo]

Gosh, I despise people that are holier than thou. When I run into people like this, I always hope some catastrophe happens to them.

Ironic. The only thing despicable here is your post calling for catastrophic consequences to anyone who dares to suggest GT should have higher standards.

 

[stech81]

look we all have something in our past.

last year i pulled the tag off our mattress the one that says do not remove without penalty of the law, now i get nervous when i see a policeman

(Anyone the penalty for removing that tag).

 

[4shotB]

look we all have something in our past.

last year i pulled the tag off our mattress the one that says do not remove without penalty of the law, now i get nervous when i see a policeman

(Anyone the penalty for removing that tag).

Stech, we know you have an affinity for beer. This is exactly the kind of crazy stunt one only does when under the influence. You have 6 more years before the statue of limitations for pillow and mattress tag removal penalties will expire. I suggest you ask the mods to delete your post.

 

[ramble_on92]

Laughable that some of you want him dismissed from the program. Yes, let’s potentially ruin a 18 year old kid’s life trajectory for weed and speeding. Because certainly all of you have never broken the speed limit or engaged in illicit substances in college? Tech has ALWAYS had weed around the program, why don’t some of you read up on why Calvin chose Tech instead of UGA and what his current business ventures are…

I’ll leave this speech here from Saban:

 

[g0lftime]

IMO He needs to be in a mandatory substance abuse program as condition of his scholarship. He is young and time to get his life in order. Will he still be on the team next year?

 

[yeti92]

How many other active (not former) GT football players have been charged with felonies? I can't recall many. (Reuben Houston for sure and Robert Hall, maybe?) I also recall the Mills fiasco, which was unfortunate and unfair. This is not a Mills situation. Mills was never arrested or hit the headlines. I don't care about what they do in private. But once it’s public, as it is in this case, it reflects on the program.

Being charged with a crime does not mean you are guilty of said crime, you seem to have forgotten that. You may have also forgotten Jarrard Tarrant and Adam Gotsis both got accused of rape , only to be found not guilty and charges dropped. You don't even know what the felonies he was charged with were. You have said he plead down the 7 felonies to 2 misdemeanors, but you don't know if that's true either, just assumed. They may have been thrown out before he ever plead anything. Stop passing judgement on someone for crimes they were not found guilty of and you have no evidence of.

Every single college football team in the country has players that smoke weed and drive fast, even BYU. You can cover your ears and stick your head in the sand, but that just makes you ignorant of the world we live in. Heck, Japan can't even prevent all their college football players from smoking weed, and drugs are a substantially bigger deal and punished far more in that country.

 

[forensicbuzz]

You’re right that I don’t know every detail, but none of us do, including you. All we can go by is what is publicly available: seven initial felony charges, a plea down to two misdemeanors, and confirmation of narcotics paraphernalia and speeding. That alone is unacceptable for a GT athlete who is, for better or worse, emblematic of our new push to compete in P4 football. The point is that what we already know reflects very poor judgment, which is inconsistent with the standards I thought GT football was about.

This is a dumb, ignorant stance. You don't know ANY details, which has already been discussed. Narcotics paraphernalia is a dab pen, which is legal in 30 states in the US and has been decriminalized in both Atlanta and Athens (apparently not in Oconee County). Holy cow! A kid was speeding!! (not racing, not being reckless, not under the influence of anything) Throw him off the team. I'm sure the consequences are commensurate with the actions.

Not really representative of the type of perspective I'm interested in spending my free time reading. So, I'll just make it where I read less stupid opinions.

 

[forensicbuzz]

look we all have something in our past.

last year i pulled the tag off our mattress the one that says do not remove without penalty of the law, now i get nervous when i see a policeman

(Anyone the penalty for removing that tag).

(psst! That warning is for the manufacturer and seller of the mattress so that you and I don't get sold a used mattress.) Snip away.

 

[forensicbuzz]

IMO He needs to be in a mandatory substance abuse program as condition of his scholarship. He is young and time to get his life in order. Will he still be on the team next year?

Preface this with I'm not a fan of cannabis or THC. But, to suggest that someone with a dab pen needs substance abuse counseling or that it implies his life isn't in order is not really thinking it through, in my opinion.

We, on this board, talk all the time about drinking beer and bourbon. There has been discussions about smoking cigars. Maybe some of us need substance abuse counseling, but most of us don't. As you said, it has to do with abuse. There is no evidence that Petty is abusing anything or that his life is out of control. To me, it seems unreasonable to expect kids to not do things that adults do all the time (legal or not). I'm not excusing nor condoning smoking/vaping THC in a state where it is not legal (but is decriminalized in Atlanta where it is merely a citation, not a misdemeanor). But, as a father of 5 kids between the ages of 17 and 27, not everything needs to be elevated to the level of "you have a problem."

 

[iceeater1969]

What does this behavior say about expectations on him and his behavior on field matter?

In the last game he played left side g iirc.
I saw he did great job getting around down block and up into hole. After the play was over he got into a grab fest w a player. 72 pulled him off as we were in a hurry up next play. Dont remember the next play.


Parents had contracr for NIL 1,000,000 Key signed. 2 ol guys portaled out - 1 starting lg at arkansas. Parents lawyered up on getting cgarges reduced to speeding and what ever. Parents have high expectations

He has lots of pressure.


Petty showed flashes of excellence on openfield block in the gd game. So far the youth movent at ol is looking pretty good.

.

Guy can move. Can he add weight?

Hope he gets emotions in check and hope he stays

 

[stech81]

(psst! That warning is for the manufacturer and seller of the mattress so that you and I don't get sold a used mattress.) Snip away.

That is good to know but one more thing while I’m being honest
When I was 6 I put a Cocoa puff up my bothers nose. Is that ok?

 

[gte447f]

Oconee County… so basically athens

Serves him f***ing right for venturing over into the cesspool. I say let him go (permanently) if he wants to.

 

[gte447f]

The 91 mph to me depends on where it is. If it's on an open stretch of limited-access highway, although fast, that's not as big a deal as if it's on a country road or somewhere there is traffic coming across or in from side streets. I have no idea where it was or the circumstances, nor am I suggesting it's not a big deal. Living in Illinois, the whole drug stuff is just not that important to me anymore. If he were impaired, whole different story. No one got hurt, and hopefully, he learns from this. Seems like there may have been an overzealous officer involved with 7 felonies charged being reduced to 2 misdemeanors. Then again, if he had a clean record, the judge would probably be pretty lenient the first time. There might be more to the story.

Forensic, I know you’re a good tech man through and through, but you sound like a dawg fan. That is all. Feel free to defend yourself or rebut me, but I won’t be engaging in one of your back and forths.

 

[kg01]

Gosh, I despise people that are holier than thou. When I run into people like this, I always hope some catastrophe happens to them.

Eh, there's a better way to express this sentiment as I assume you don't really wish that on someone.

I despise the holier than thought people as well. It's easy to stand on a pedestal and judge others. In many ways it's just as sinful as whatever it is they're judging.

I think some of you guys are just upset because now your mutt brother-in-law is gonna bust your chops about our “jail-bird football program.”

For real. If anyone is afraid of this, trust me, you got plenty of ammo to defend against your mutt brother-in-law.

 

[Techster]

Remember: Judge not, lest ye be judged.