Georgia Tech Fans Cross the Line in Mocking of Aaron Murray

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

There’s a well-known rivalry in the state of Georgia called “Clean Old Fashioned Hate”. It’s the football rivalry between Georgia Tech and Georgia, and normally there are no holds barred when it comes to the lambasting of the enemy, be it on social media, T-shirts or any other way of expressing hatred for the other side.

But there is a line, and sadly, some Georgia Tech fans crossed that line this week.

Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was playing in his final home game this past Saturday, and what was supposed to be a celebration of his storied career at Georgia turned out to be a disaster.

Late in the second quarter, Murray was injured and had to be helped off the field. After an MRI on Sunday, it was revealed that he had torn his left ACL, and would be unable to play in both the game against Georgia Tech, as well as in whatever bowl game the Bulldogs end up. Not having to face Murray may indeed be a blessing for the Jackets, but when fans celebrate a young man’s injury, that shows a complete lack of class.

And that’s exactly what happened. Georgia Tech fans, in public forums, were openly making fun of Murray’s injury and mocking him – even to the point of wishing further harm to him and his career. And we aren’t talking just saying “ha ha..too bad Murray” either. These comments were just venomous, gutless and totally uncalled for. A callous and cruel attack on a fine young football player.

Shame on you Tech fans, you’re supposed to be bigger than them.

This was first brought to my attention in an article from SB Nation’s Dawg Sports. After reading this I thought that it had to be just a one-off message board. A rogue element of Georgia Tech fans that had simply partaken in far too many libations after the Jackets’ blowout of Alabama A&M.

So I looked around Twitter and some other message boards, and what I found was just as appalling.

From: Beestorm (in response to the SB Nation article)

nothing in the world outside of conyers makes me happier than to see stuff like this. did she mention our laughing at munsons death too? I kind of zoned out while reading it.. uga journalism at its best

From: Southendzonebee

I hate Aaron Murray. Nothing makes me happier than seeing Murray hurt himself in his final game at Sanford Stadium. I wish Georgia unsafe travels and terrible luck this week. Maybe we will knock Hutson Mason out. Would be hilarious to see a young gun QB tear his ACL or something worse in his first game as starter.

From: JTS1207

Hoping more for a horrific bus accident…..

From: alagold

yep, that about calls it–what more could have we asked for(unless he got hurt in warm-ups)

There were more, some chillingly vivid. And those were in addition to the ones mentioned in the SB Nation article. Disgusting. Not to mention, a pretty poor way of bringing good karma to the game next week.

To be fair, I’ve seen some (not a lot) Tech fans wishing Murray well, or even saying that the kid is a class act and that they’d rather beat Georgia with him playing. It’s a shame there wasn’t more of those type sentiments to be found.

It’s perfectly normal and right for Tech fans to “hate” Georgia. It’s part of what makes this rivalry so fun, and the hate week leading up to the game is a big part of it. But wishing injury to another young person, no matter what school he attends or how many times he’s crushed the dreams of your team, is beyond comprehension.

Georgia Tech is known for high standards – in academics, in athletics and in the type of adults sent out into the world to represent the school with pride and class. This type of poorly thought out smack-talk only drags that reputation down and gives little credence to the way that Georgia Tech students and alumni are supposed to hold their heads high.

Do not hate to the point that you become what you loathed. Keep yourselves above the fray, and show the type of class and sportsmanship that Georgia Tech and the ACC are known for, and don’t let your humanity become compromised simply because of a football rivalry. Remember, it’s CLEAN old fashioned hate.

From all of us at YellowJackedUp.com, we wish Aaron Murray a speedy recovery, and hope that this injury doesn’t halt his dream of playing in the NFL.

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