A retraction demand by the University of Georgia to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution over a report investigating sexual and domestic abuse within the football program has resulted in substantial corrections, according to an internal report from the newspaper. The story, originally published on June 27, suggested a pattern of misconduct in which players were supported and retained after various accusations of abuse.
In response, the university issued a nine-page letter on July 11 from attorney Michael M. Raeber demanding that the paper retract its original article. While the article was not retracted, changes were made to the original reporting. Reporter Alan Judd was also terminated by the outlet following the internal review.
"Our editorial integrity and the trust our community has in us is at the core of who we are," Journal-Constitution Editor-in-Chief Leroy Chapman said in a statement. "After receiving the university's letter, we assigned our team of editors and lawyers to carefully review each claim in the nine-page document we received, along with some additional source material that supported the original story. We identified errors that fell short of our standards, and we corrected them."
"A critical part of our mission is to hold people and institutions accountable," Chapman continued. "It is a responsibility we take seriously. We must hold ourselves to this same standard and acknowledge when we fall short, which we have here. We apologize to the university and our readers for the errors."
The initial story stated that, since Smart became the coach in 2016, 11 players remained with the team after women reported violent encounters with them. That number was unsubstantiated, however, and changed to reflect two instances that were deemed "accurate and newsworthy," according to the internal review.
The initial investigative piece also details an instance in which defensive lineman Jamaal Jarrett, a recruit at the time, was investigated for sexual assault after a woman called 911 following an encounter at a hotel. The newspaper's internal report states the article improperly joined two statements a detective made minutes apart into a single quotation, failing to meet editorial standards.
In conjunction with the demand for retraction, the university held a press conference with coach Kirby Smart, athletic director Josh Brooks, senior deputy director of athletics Darrice Griffin and director of equal opportunity office/Title IX coordinator Qiana Wilson.
"The recent media suggestion that the university and our program turn a blind eye to domestic abuse and sexual assault by ignoring reports or rewarding bad behavior is absolutely wrong," Brooks said during the press conference. "It crosses a serious line, and we will not stand for this conjecture."
A request for comment to the University of Georgia was not immediately returned.
