UGA AD Arrested For DUI (POLL)

UGA athletic director arrested on DUI charge

Written by DORIE TURNER
Associated Press Writer

Posted on 07.01.10

University of Georgia athletic director Damon Evans is seen in an undated photo provided by the Atlanta Department of Corrections. Evans was arrested late Wednesday night, June 30, 2010 and charged with drunken driving after a traffic stop in North Atlanta, authorities said. (AP Photo/Atlanta Department of Corrections)

ATLANTA – The University of Georgia athletic director who publicly campaigned against drunken driving will make a public statement Thursday about his arrest on charges of driving under the influence.

Athletic director Damon Evans was arrested late Wednesday night after he was pulled over in a 2009 BMW by a Georgia state trooper in north Atlanta and accused of driving erratically, Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said Thursday.

Police said Evans smelled of alcohol and was given a field sobriety test before being taken to the Atlanta city jail on charges of DUI and failure to maintain a lane, Wright said.
“The trooper determined that he was not safe to be operating a motor vehicle,” Wright said.

The 40-year-old former UGA football player refused a breathalyzer test at the jail, Wright said. He was released early Thursday.

He said there was a passenger in Evans' car who also was taken to jail. The passenger's identity was not immediately released.

UGA spokesman Chuck Toney said the university is aware of the report and will issue a statement later Thursday. Evans, whose new five-year contract with the university began Thursday, did not immediately return a call for comment.

Evans became head of UGA's athletic department in 2004, following legendary director and coach Vince Dooley. He lead the department to a record profit in 2005, beating out all other college athletic programs with $23.9 million in revenue.

He appears in a public service message against drunken driving that is shown on the big screen of Georgia's stadium during home football games.

“We ask that you be responsible,” Evans says in the message.

UGA athletic director apologizes for DUI arrest

By Christian Boone
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

University of Georgia Athletic Director Damon Evans apologized for making a "grave, grave mistake" Thursday night, less than 24 hours after he was arrested for driving under the influence.



Atlanta Police Department WSB-TV is reporting that 28-year-old Courtney Fuhrmann, of Atlanta, was a passenger in Damon Evans’ car.

"I let this university down, I let my family down, I let those in the Bulldog nation down," Evans said at a press conference. "My behavior, my actions, were not indicative of what we teach our student athletes at the University of Georgia."

A passenger in Evans' 2009 BMW, 28-year-old Courtney Fuhrmann, of Atlanta, was arrested for disorderly conduct.

Georgia State Patrol spokesman Gordy Wright said she repeatedly ignored the trooper's warning to stay in the car while Evans was being interviewed near the intersection of Roswell Road and Chastain Drive.

"He ordered her back into the car several times and she continued to get out," Wright told the AJC. Evans and Fuhrmann were booked at Atlanta city jail then released Thursday morning.

Evans' remarks were coordinated with university officials.

According to a spokesman, UGA President Michael Adams will issue a written statement following the news conference at the Rankin Smith Center on campus.

"The trooper made the traffic stop after observing the manner he was driving," Wright said. Evans was stopped at 11:55 p.m. "[The trooper] got him stopped, detected an odor of alcohol, administered field sobriety and [arrested him]."

Evans, charged with DUI and failure to maintain his lane, refused to take a breath test, Wright said.

In Athens, coaches and senior staff met in Evans' office in the Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall at 1:20 p.m. Thursday.

Evans, who became one of the youngest athletic directors in the nation when he succeeded Vince Dooley in 2004, received a $110,000 raise in February to $550,000 annually, with additional $20,000 raises each subsequent year.

Sophomore Kaitlin Miller said Evans' arrest has caused quite a buzz on campus.

"It's a huge disappointment," said Miller, a member of the Student Government Association. "I can see students naturally pointing to hypocrisy because of everything he has said against drunk driving."

Miller said there needs to be accountability and she expects some sort of apology.

"He needs to apologize because there is no condoning that behavior," she said. "But this was a mistake, a lapse in judgment. I hope it doesn't jeopardize his previous messages against drunk driving."

Under Athletic Association policy, student-athletes get suspended for 10 percent of the season for an alcohol-related arrest.

University employees may receive disciplinary action or be suspended for a wide variety of offenses, including "bringing discredit to the university."

The last employee arrested for an alcohol-related offense was, like Evans, employed by the UGA Athletic Association. Assistant ticket manager Karen Melissa Warther was also charged with DUI and failure to maintain her lane. She is still employed by the university, three months after her arrest, according to the association's Web site.

Evans, a wide receiver for the Bulldogs from 1988-92, returned to his alma mater in 1998 as an associate athletic director. The Nebraska native, raised in Gainesville, is married with two children.

According to her LinkedIn page, Fuhrmann is an asset manager for an Atlanta real estate firm. She graduated in 2005 from Georgia Southern University with a degree in journalism.

--Staff writers Larry Hartstein, Chip Towers, Chelsea Cook and Laura Diamond contributed to this report.

Could not have happened to a more deserving fan base