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Mark Schlabach
Georgia wide receiver Colbie Young pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct on Wednesday in a criminal case related to his arrest on Oct. 8, in which a woman accused him of assaulting her and her unborn child, before later recanting her statement to police.
The player’s attorney, Kim Stephens, told ESPN on Wednesday that Young will serve 12 months’ probation, pay a $500 fine and attend a family violence intervention program.
Prosecutors dropped misdemeanor charges of battery and assault on an unborn child, according to Stephens.
“I think it should have been dismissed, but I don’t think they were being unreasonable at all,” Stephens said of prosecutors. “I think in the whole scheme of things, a disorderly conduct charge and a resolution that allows us to enter a no-contest plea and restrict and seal the record because it’s a first-offender plea allows Colbie to move on with the rest of his life. That’s certainly a good result.”
Young didn’t play in a game for the Bulldogs last season after his arrest. He was allowed to return to practice by the university’s Equal Opportunity Office on Nov. 26, but didn’t appear in games because of his pending legal case.
A trial was scheduled June 2.
It wasn’t immediately clear how Young’s resolution of his criminal charges would affect his ability to return to the football team in 2025. A Georgia spokesman declined comment when reached by ESPN on Wednesday.
The woman involved in an altercation that led to Young’s arrest and suspension retracted her statement to police and requested that charges against him be dropped, according to an affidavit provided to ESPN by Stephens.
According to an Athens-Clarke County Police incident report obtained by ESPN, a 20-year-old woman, who described herself as Young’s ex-girlfriend, told police that she went to his apartment on Oct. 8 to discuss their relationship.
When the conversation became heated after she discovered he was on the phone with another woman, the complainant said Young “grabbed her left arm near her biceps and triceps and physically pulled her out of his room.”
The woman said Young was “using derogatory terms and being demeaning of her.” She said Young went back to his room and locked the door.
The woman told police she started to collect her belongings when a friend called her phone. When she answered, the woman told police, “Mr. Young came out and grabbed her from behind. She said that he picked her up and began to squeeze her torso and abdomen very hard. She said she felt like [Young] was trying to harm her.”
The police officer noted in the report that he observed a bruise and discoloration on the bottom of the woman’s chest where it meets the abdomen, and redness on her right side. The police officer transported the woman to an Athens hospital for treatment.
In the affidavit, the woman said the police report was “slanted and does not accurately portray what occurred on Oct. 8.”
“I did go to Colbie’s apartment late at night to talk to him about our relationship and my pregnancy,” the woman said. “Colbie asked me to leave more than once while I was there. I did not leave until I became upset with him and did not think our conversation was productive.
“Colbie did not place his hands on me in any way during the conversation and argument that was inappropriate or unwanted. He did not hit me. He did not push me. He did not cause any bruising or marks on me. He did not injure me in any way.”
Young, who transferred to Georgia from Miami, had 11 catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns last season.