Georgia football: Breaking down the Justin Fields aftermath

A sad ending to what could have been a fantastic career in Athens

There remains a great chance that one day, Justin Fields will be a top 5 draft pick and a future NFL Pro Bowler. He’s an incredible talent who has the whole world at his feet. That being said, it’s unlikely that Georgia fans will carry many positive memories of him into the future. His time in Athens will ultimately remain a huge disappointment, not just for fans but also for himself. He came into Georgia as the most hyped player since Hershel Walker to sign for the Dawgs. He leaves after less than a year and a media firestorm that has wounded this fanbase.

It’s a huge shame and one that a lot of people share the blame for. The coaches deserve some for not finding the right way to use Fields at times this season. Fields deserves some himself in that he wasn’t prepared to be patient and develop alongside a player like Fromm and is instead, trying to find an easier, quicker fix. The people around him deserve plenty because his decision was not handled correctly and it hurt his teammates and the school. Their pursuit of a waiver based on ‘racism’ could seriously impact an institution where their daughter recently accepted a scholarship. The past month has quite frankly been a mess and none of that was UGA’s doing.

It’s unfortunate that should Fields be granted the waiver, the lasting memory most UGA fans have of him will be his family claiming that UGA is a racist institution that was unsafe for him to be in, but totally fine for their daughter. It’s a sad and depressing ending that is occurring despite the fact that UGA did everything right when the event occurred but is now being made to suffer because a kid wants to change schools.

At a time where personal responsibility is sadly lacking in many areas of American life, ‘the Fields saga’ is just one more example of a mindset that seems to be increasingly prevalent. All the parties that I’ve mentioned made a commitment to a process a year ago. After less than 12 months, the youngest, most impressionable party has changed his mind and his family are prepared to burn everything to the ground to help him get his way rather than hold him accountable for that decision. That’s not surprising, but it is sad and the biggest shame is that the past month will be all that Justin Fields is remembered for in Athens going forward.