Atlanta Journal-Constitution Fires Reporter Over Incorrect Story About Georgia Football, But Avoids Full Retraction

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution did not fully retract a recent, critical story about the University of Georgia football program's handling of sexual abuse allegations against its players.

But it fired experienced, two-time Pulitzer Prize nominated investigative reporter Alan Judd, who wrote it, the AJC said Wednesday.

The newspaper's editors and attorneys reviewed the story of June 27 after a nine-page letter by Georgia chief counsel Michael M. Raeber on July 11 demanded the article be fully retracted.

"We identified errors that fell short of our standards, and we corrected them," AJC editor-in-chief Leroy Chapman said Wednesday. "A critical part of our mission is to hold people and institutions accountable. It is a responsibility we take seriously. We must hold ourselves to this same standard and acknowledge when we fall short, which we have."

An updated, corrected version of the story now appears on the AJC website.

"We apologize to the university and our readers for the errors," Chapman said.

The AJC did not find any fabrications in the story, contrary to accusations by Raeber, but did find mistakes.

The editors and attorneys said they could not substantiate a major assertion by Judd - that 11 football players since Kirby Smart became coach in 2016 remained with the team after women reported violent encounters with them.

"The precise count of 11 players could not be substantiated under the AJC's standards," Chapman's statement said.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Makes Corrections

The AJC thus removed and/or changed several paragraphs in the story. Another correction involved Judd combining two statements by a detective.

"Connecting the sentences did not change the meaning of the quote, but the way it was presented to readers failed to meet AJC standards," the statement said.

Judd had been with the AJC for nearly 25 years. His investigative work exposed slumlords in the Atlanta area and linked suspicious deaths in state psychiatric hospitals to neglect and abuse. He also uncovered a teacher cheating scandal in Atlanta public schools.

"I am proud of the work I have done for the AJC for the last 24 years," Judd said in a statement. "I am grateful for the opportunity I've had to serve the community."

The June 27 article was the latest in a series of reports by the AJC on how Georgia football players frequently eluded accountability for off-field infractions.

The AJC had reported that the program's permissive culture often tolerated reckless driving, excessive speeding and street racing by its players. That behavior culminated in a tragedy when a high-speed car crash last January killed a football player and a member of the team’s staff and seriously injured another staff member. That led to criminal charges against star defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who was a first round pick in the last NFL Draft.