Georgia fans expecting Todd Gurley back for the Florida game this weekend are going to be very disappointed as the NCAA has decided to suspend the star running back for two additional games. Gurley will not be eligible for return until the Auburn game on November 15th.
The NCAA announced that Todd Gurley, star Georgia running back, must miss a total of four games for breaking its rules against athletes profiting off of their own names and likenesses. According to the institution, he accepted “more than $3,000 in cash from multiple individuals for autographed memorabilia and other items over two years,” and the established suspension length for such a violation is 30 percent of a season, or about four games for a football player.
Gurley already missed two games due to a school suspension during the investigation, after which Georgia moved to reinstate him. He’ll now have to miss two more, against Florida and Kentucky. He will return for No. 11 Georgia against current No. 3 Auburn. In his absence, Georgia won handily against Missouri and Arkansas.
The University of Georgia was hoping to have Gurley back for the game this weekend after they applied for his reinstatement last week, they are appealing the NCAA’s decision.
UGA statement on Gurley decision: Tuesday afternoon the University received the decision from the NCAA Student-Athlete Reinstatement staff..
— Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) October 29, 2014
..regarding the University's request for the reinstatement of Todd Gurley. The University plans to appeal the decision immediately.
— Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) October 29, 2014