Your support helps us to tell the story
Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young was arrested Tuesday on charges of battery and assault on an unborn child.
Athens-Clarke County jail records show Young was booked at 4:18 a.m. on the misdemeanor charges. A police report obtained by The Associated Press said his arrest followed an altercation with a 20-year-old woman who described herself to police as Young's ex-girlfriend and told officers she went to Young's apartment “to speak about their relationship.”
She said the discussion became heated “after she found out he was on the phone with another woman.” The woman told police Young “physically pulled her out of his room” and also “grabbed her from behind” and “picked her up and began to squeeze her torso and abdomen very hard.”
The woman told police she believed Young "was trying to harm her.” The arresting officer said Young denied being responsible for a bruise, discoloration and redness the officer found on the woman and denied grabbing her.
Young's attorney, Kim Stephens, told the AP in a statement Young did not harm the woman.
“Colbie Young was arrested last night after he asked his ex-girlfriend to leave his apartment,” Stephens said. "He did not make any physical contact with her in any way that could ever be considered a crime. I expect Mr. Young to be fully exonerated once our investigation is complete and the truth revealed.”
Young, a senior from Binghamton, New York, transferred to Georgia following two seasons at Miami. Young has 11 receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns in five games for No. 5 Georgia, including two starts. Young had three catches for a team-leading 51 yards in last week's 31-13 win over Auburn.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart did not have an immediate statement on the arrest. Smart was expected to speak with reporters later Tuesday following practice for Saturday's game against Mississippi State.
Georgia spokesman Steven Drummond said in a statement, “This is a pending legal matter, we will have no further comment at this time.”
Young remained in jail as of early Tuesday afternoon.
Smart dismissed wide receiver Rara Thomas from the team before the season after Thomas was charged with cruelty to children and battery. It was the second arrest in two years for Thomas, a transfer from Mississippi State.
Georgia players have been involved in at least two dozen driving-related violations such as DUI, reckless driving or speeding, The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has reported. On Sept. 12, cornerback Daniel Harris was arrested on a reckless driving charge after police said he was driving 106 mph.
Smart has acknowledged struggling to get his players to drive safely — an issue that took on heightened importance since a crash that killed a player and a recruiting staffer in January 2023, shortly after the team celebrated its second straight national championship. Offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy were killed in the car crash on Jan. 15, 2023, just days after the Bulldogs won the national title game.
