Former Georgia Bulldog Claims Kirby Smart Manipulated Him, Racist Events Led to Transfer

Cade Mays announced his decision to transfer from Georgia to Tennessee shortly after the Bulldogs Bowl win in January. Mays' found himself in the middle of a lawsuit with his family and the school over his father's pinky finger being amputated in a folding chair accident.

Mays announced his intent to transfer back to Tennessee on January 9th. Less than a week later, Otis Reese announced he was transferring from Georgia to Ole Miss.

Today, Reese, who is still awaiting his fate, much like Mays, took to social media to share what went into his situation, and the comments were directed towards Kirby Smart. What Reese wrote is below:

"The reason I chose to transfer is because my 1 1/2 years at UGA took a devastating mental toll on me. From my first moment I stepped on campus, it was not what I expected. The Racist events that I kept experiencing weighed on me heavily and seemed never-ending.

"Then when I chose to leave the team, I was led to believe by Coach Smart that if I finished the season and not "Let my team down" as he requested, he would support both my decision to transfer and my request to be immediately eligible. (The NCAA has at text message from myself to Coach Smart which verifies my intent to leave on Oct 4th of last season, in which I was manipulated to play the very next day, when I truly was at my darkest moment.)

"When I was a student-athlete at UGA, I was pulled over and harassed by police officers, not once but twice. The first time I was driving alone and the second time I was a passenger in my teammate's car. On both occasions the officers were extremely aggressive, accusing us of using drugs and searching the car without any basis and told us they would take us to jail. This type of harassment was a constant discussion around players throughout my time at UGA as many of my teammates were falsely arrested and harassed.

"Both of my times I was polite, respectful, and compliant, but both these experiences left me shaken. I received tickets & citations. (Upon request of Body Cam footage from the Athens police we were told that none existed.)

"One of my closest friends and teammates was called a n***** by a white student-athlete. Another group of white classmates mocked slavery and pretended to whip each other. These were two very public events. I didn't want to be part of a campus where my classmates held that kind of hate in their hearts. None of those things were ever addressed by the coaches at UGA. There was literally nobody to speak to about these types of things without having fear of losing your position on the team."

While Reese's situation stems from a racist environment, it is not out of turn to say that his claim is similar to that of Mays'. In a report from the Knoxville News Sentinel, Mays' attorney, Greg Isaacs said Mays waiver claim centers on a"toxic environment that did not support Cade Mays’ well-being as a student-athlete."

Mays has now won his appeal, and he has to await NCAA approval. It is safe to say that Reese's statement could become a factor for Mays as well, as it appears to substantiate the claim.