Kirby Smart shares first comment on Colbie Young since suspension
ATHENS, Ga. — It's been just over a month since Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young was indefinitely suspended from the team following an arrest for assault on an unborn child and battery. Last week, Young's alleged victim recanted her original statement in a sworn affidavit and asked that charges against him be dropped. For the first time since announcing his suspension, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart spoke on Young's situation.
"The legal process has got to play itself out," Smart said. "Look, we want to support Colbie where we can. We continue to provide him with access to our facilities and the support resources we have, whether that's Rankin (Smith Sr. Student-Athlete Academic Center), the training room, mental health, weight room. But the legal process has to play itself out before we can do anything."
Young's attorney, Kim T. Stephens, shared with the media last week that the victim had made a strong efforts for the charges to be dropped, speaking with the Athens-Clarke County Police Department less than a week after Young's arrest and multiple times since then.
"On October 8, 2024, the Athens-Clarke County Police Department arrested Colbie Young alleging that he committed two misdemeanor offenses. After meeting with Mr. Young, I released a statement saying that Colbie Young did not make physical contact with his ex-girlfriend in any way that could every be considered a crime and that I expected Mr. Young to be exonerated once our investigation was complete and the truth revealed.
Since making that statement, [the alleged victim] contacted my office to clarify the facts about what happened, and didn't happen, on October 8. She also made it clear that she had communicated with the prosecutor's office and requested on multiple occasions that the charges against Mr. Young be dismissed. Because her requests for dismissal have not been acted upon by the State, [the alleged victim] wanted to release a public statement and, in that regard, asked my office to provide this Release of Information and her Affidavit to media members.
Contemporaneous with releasing this information to media members, we are providing copies of the affidavit to the University of Georgia and the prosecuting attorney's office.
As evident by the Affidavit, Colbie Young did not commit any crime in this matter and all charges against him should be dismissed immediately. Likewise, because the affidavit fully exonerates Mr. Young, the University of Georgia should allow Mr. Young to return to all team activities including participation in games."
The affidavit, obtained by DawgsHQ on November 6th, shared that the alleged victim stated that she first notified the Solicitor's Office for Athens-Clarke County that she wanted the case dismissed on October 14th (six days after the arrest) and since that date has repeated her request on multiple occasions.
"Colbie did not place his hands on me in any way during the conversation and the argument that was inappropriate or unwanted," the alleged victim stated in the affidavit. "He did not hit me He did not push me. He did not cause any bruising or marks on me. He did not injure me in any way. To be clear, Colbie Young did not commit any acts of violence toward me or my unborn child, including but not limited to simple battery, battery, or assault on an unborn child."
The alleged victim also requested that the incident report reflect the sworn affidavit, she called the information in the police report "slanted" and asked not only that the State drop charges against Young, but that he also be reinstated to the Georgia football team. The affidavit is signed, notarized and dated November 6th, the date of publication of this story.
A transfer from Miami, Young played in Georgia's first five games of the season totaling 11 catches for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He scored in each of his first two games for the Bulldogs, helping UGA past Clemson in the season-opener with the team's first touchdown of the year. Prior to his career at Georgia, Young spent two seasons at Miami (Fla.) after playing one season at Lackawanna College in New York. He totaled 79 receptions for 930 yards and 10 touchdowns in 22 games for the Hurricanes, finishing third on the team in receptions (47) and receiving yards (563) as well as tied for second in receiving touchdowns (5) in 2023.
Georgia, ranked outside of the top-10 in the AP Poll for the first time since 2020, takes on Tennessee in a de facto College Football Playoff game on Saturday. The loss to Ole Miss was a second for the Bulldogs this season while the one-loss Volunteers find themselves on top of the SEC standings and fighting for a spot in the conference championship game.
Kickoff time is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC (Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Holly Rowe, Laura Rutledge) with ESPN's College GameDay and SEC Network's SEC Nation in town to get the day started at 9:00 a.m. ET.
