The new open records law just speaks to the general paranoia in the SEC. The problem is, this is bigger than just football. It’s a detriment to the student and professional journalist who want to serve the public.
If an athletic program can push to delay it’s response time to records request, why wouldn’t other state agencies follow suit? The lawmakers wrote the new open record pretty broadly. the new law puts a delay on releasing new contract terms, any NCAA complaint letters, or if there are any new projects that come from taxpayer money.
Changing operating procedures won’t even give Smart an advantage on the field or in recruiting. The football department has access to doghouses full of money, near-professional facilities, and is in arguably the best state for high school football talent. Restricting access to public documents won’t help UGA win a national title. It won’t keep its wide receivers from dropping passes. But it does hurt taxpayers in Georgia, fans and anybody who cares about UGA — and any other athletic department in the state.