Tempers Flare in Heated Matchup

By now, everyone has heard about the altercations that occurred after Saturday night’s game between Georgia and Vanderbilt.  Everyone has also heard about the penalties each team is receiving—Georgia safety Shawn Williams and nose tackle Kwame Geathers and Vandy center Logan Stewart all must sit out half a game.  But the real topic for conversation right now is the altercation that went down between Georgia’s defensive coordinator, Todd Grantham, and Vandy’s head coach James Franklin.

Grantham is self-admitted to the fact that he often tends to get caught up in the heat of a game—something that was demonstrated at last year’s game against Florida, as well.  “I love my players…I feel a responsibility and loyalty to protect and stand up for them,” Grantham was quoted saying to David Paschall of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.  Why, exactly, was Grantham trying to stand up for them?  This has yet to be stated but could possibly be due to the fact that many of UGA’s players were being accused of playing dirty.  Camera footage shows Coach Franklin pointing at Shawn Williams, who received two personal foul penalties during the game, and then Grantham reacting violently.

Coach Franklin defends his actions by saying that while he is a very emotional person, he is very thought out about his actions and does not have many regrets.  As far as his feelings on Saturday’s game: “I would have liked for the game to have ended differently. I would have liked for us to win. When we didn’t, I would have liked for us to shake hands and leave the field as men of character.” Although that wasn’t necessarily the case, Franklin hopes that both teams can move forward from the altercation.

This article does a good job of showing both sides of the story, having quotes from both Grantham and Franklin on their opinions of their actions from Saturday night.  However, the article does tend to put Grantham in a bad light, bringing up incidents that have happened in the past and making him seem like a loose cannon.  It would be nice, however, to have been able to know exactly what was said between the two coaches during their tift.  All we know for now, though, is that Grantham plans on using the incident as a “learning experience for both himself and his players.”