Kirby Smart comments on Raylen Wilson being shoved by Alabama fan after game
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Kirby Smart talked a lot in his Monday press conference about the huge win that his now top-ranked Georgia team pulled off over rival Alabama on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
But the Bulldogs head coach also had to speak about some not-so-pleasant things, highlighted by the postgame problems with Alabama fans’ behavior toward his players. One player in particular, linebacker Raylen Wilson, had his helmet shoved by a Crimson Tide fan. Reggie Chatman Jr. of Atlanta’s WXIA-TV, who was covering the game at Bryant-Denny Stadium, caught video of the fan touching Wilson’s helmet.
Wilson walked away after the incident without making the situation worse, but it was a serious enough issue that Alabama athletics released a statement to AL.com on Sunday night that addressed the fan conduct at Saturday night’s game.
The statement read, in part:
We are disappointed by the unacceptable behavior exhibited by some of the game’s attendees last night and are in the process of gathering information.
The last thing Kirby Smart probably wanted to be talking about on Monday with reporters was the issue of Alabama fan behavior, but he needed to address the matter and did.
Smart said about Alabama fans interacting with players:
I don’t know that you can predict; you want people to make good decisions and do things the right way, and Raylen (Wilson) certainly did there. There’s so much that goes into that. He thought it was a Georgia fan, which probably helped him react the way he did initially. It’s disappointing behavior by any fan, and certainly nothing we condone. I’m sure Alabama doesn’t condone it either.
Postgame antics aside from Week 6, Georgia will try to move forward and keep the winning ways going in Week 7 when Auburn comes to Athens. Here is what the Kalshi market is currently saying about the Bulldogs’ chances to hold serve at home and stay unbeaten in the 3:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN:
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
