Hayes: Another arrest. Another slap on the wrist response. It’s past time to get tough, Kirby

Kirby Smart isn’t driving these cars. He’s not committing misdemeanors and felonies, and embarrassing his university over and over.

So don’t blame him for repeatedly poor decisions from Georgia players.

Blame him for the way he reacts.

Blame him — as coach of the most high-profile team in college football — for not taking a serious and significant public stand against his roster and demanding better.

For twice in the last week staring in the face of opportunity — and punting.

For failing his team, his university and himself, all in the name of winning.

For looking more and more like the last guy in the SEC who won at all cost (Urban Meyer), and not doing everything he can to avoid it.

For standing at the dais last week at SEC Media Days, and having the onions to proclaim, “We don’t talk about suspensions. Each of those cases is very different, and they’ll be handed in different ways.”

Not one or 10 cases, mind you. Or 15. But more than 20 in the past 2 years. One of those cases — reckless driving and racing charges — led to the death a Georgia player and a staffer.

That’s right, death. Not a broken bone, or ankle sprain or a couple of scratches and bruises.

Death.

A tragic loss of life that includes a multimillion dollar wrongful death lawsuit against the university. You would think, with all the negative publicity surrounding two dozen speeding and/or reckless driving charges, the coach with an answer for every problem on the field could make simple moves to eliminate problems off the field.

But here we are, and the arrests keep piling up this offseason.

— Star linebacker Smael Mondon Jr., was arrested earlier this month on charges of racing on highways/streets and reckless driving. He’s still on the team.

— Heralded transfer running back Trevor Etienne was charged earlier this summer with reckless driving and driving under the influence. He’s still on the team.

— Then, on Friday, starting wide receiver Rara Thomas was arrested for the second time in 18 months on the same disturbing charges: family violence. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, he has been indefinitely suspended.

Well, whoop-dee-freaking-doo.

I’m going to make this very easy for Kirby Smart: Start kicking players off the team.

Then hold a press conference, and declare that the next player who receives a speeding ticket or reckless driving charge, or a felony charge of any kind, is off the team. Period.

Watch how quickly this stuff ends. Watch how quickly it reverberates through the team and leads to change.

Players care about two things: money and playing time, and that simple, unwavering statement eliminates both.

But that type of stance leaves Georgia without two of its best players for the 2024 season. It puts the Bulldogs in a precarious position to deal with a schedule that includes road games at Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss.

Here’s what else it does: It prevents other potential problems from popping up, including perhaps even tragic ones. Maybe, just maybe, it contributes to better decisions from the rest of the roster.

In January of 2023, Thomas was arrested on family violence charges, and later received pretrial intervention from the judicial system. He was never suspended by Smart.

Nearly 18 months later, Thomas was arrested again on — I know this is going to shock you — family violence charges. This time, the charges include one felony count of second degree cruelty to children.

No public press conference from Smart, no grandstanding moment to underscore the severity of his team’s growing list of problems off the field. Just someone in the athletic department leaking to the AJC that Thomas has been indefinitely suspended.

Because what sends a better message to the rest of the roster than an athletic department leak?

Remember, Smart says each case is different. And not just different, but very different. Each will be handled in its own way.

Late last week, as he continued to explain his stance on discipline at SEC Media Days, Smart awkwardly declared that Georgia has actually suspended players for speeding tickets.

“And we’re the only program in the country who has done that,” he said.

And yet, there goes another player, arriving on campus and before playing his first game for Georgia, arrested and charged not only with speeding — but speeding while driving under the influence.

What are the odds Trevor Etienne doesn’t miss a game this fall?

Probably about the same odds of Smart accepting any blame for off-field problems at Georgia.

Matt Hayes

Matt Hayes is a national college football writer for Saturday Down South. You can hear him daily from 12-3 p.m. on 1010XL in Jacksonville. Follow on Twitter @MattHayesCFB