Kirby Smart: Trevor Etienne ‘embarrassed’ by DUI arrest, will use it as ‘teaching moment’

The University of Georgia football program is entering the final weeks of its spring practice. Before his team hit the field Tuesday, head coach Kirby Smart addressed the recent arrest of a transfer player.

Channel 2 Action News reported on Sunday that Athens-Clarke County police arrested Trevor Etienne on driving under the influence and reckless driving charges.

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Smart reiterated that he believes Etienne is a “great kid” and that he has enjoyed getting to know him after he transferred from the University of Florida.

The Bulldogs coach added that Etienne knows what he did was a mistake and will learn from it.

“As we also know, sometimes kids don’t make the best decisions. The older you get sometimes the tougher the consequences are for your mistakes. He is not going to let this mistake define him. He is embarrassed, he is upset and he knows he has made a mistake. It is a teaching moment, and we think he gets better from it,” Smart told reporters Tuesday.

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Police arrested Etienne on Sunday morning. The officer who arrested Etienne wrote in his report that the running said he was “trying to get home” and that he was coming back from the downtown area with friends.

The officer said he asked Etienne how much he had to drink and Etienne replied saying he only had three drinks “way earlier.” Etienne was swaying, had glossed over eyes and slurred speech, according to the report. He refused to take a breathalyzer and blood alcohol test.

Jail records showed Etienne was charged with DUI, failure to maintain lane and improper driving on the road, reckless driving and affixing materials that reduce the visibility of windows or windshields.

Smart briefly addressed if Etienne will face any punishment from UGA.

“In addition to our university discipline process, we have all the stuff we deal with in-house, and he will be under the same rules we have in-house as well as university discipline. Disappointed in his decision-making, but he is a good kid,” Smart said.

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