Father of Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship says it's 'an injustice' son isn't on scholarship

That means the newbies will be cashing those weekly $200 maintenance checks (not to mention the free housing, tuition, books, etc.) while our son uses his debit card for weekend meals and incidentals; back home in Marietta there’s a dad who has to keep his son’s checking account balance on the plus side. Yes, our son is allowed to participate at the training table during the week —a godsend when meal plan costs are computed.

Our only conclusion, based on Coach Smart’s obvious pre-meeting preparation with intent to tear down our son’s case for a scholarship and during the meeting his dismissive categorization of our son’s achievements, is that there has never been a consideration for our son to receive a scholarship. We have to give Coach Smart credit where credit is due: just like a business manager refusing to give a raise to an employee during a sit-down meeting, he was extremely well-prepared with his list of grievances. At least employees receive a salary; our son is an unpaid employee who is actually paying his employer (that would be the University of Georgia) for the privilege of working for it. Aren’t there any alumni out there just a little bit peeved over this scenario, given Rodrigo’s apparent popularity?

If Coach Smart had simply said, whether truthfully or not, that it was a numbers issue, it would have been much better than the tearing-down tactic with our son sitting there beside us. What did he do for you ON THE FIELD, Coach Smart? For us, there exist no acceptable rationalizations or explanations for denying our son what he has deservedly earned: an athletic scholarship to continue playing football at the University of Georgia.