Don't cry for me, Villa Rica: The Bryan Allen Story

I thnk Staples does a balanced piece here without taking Allens' woe-is-me bait (McMurphy's ESPN piece is a bit less balanced, but overall had more quotes). While I think the things some people did and statements directed at him are unfortunate and sad, the story reads like he is still trying to convince the world that he is a poor working stiff just trying to make a living. Oh, and he was just a pawn in game of life.

My favorite part is the nebulous 'calls from blocked numbers' asking about the Gurley autographs coming shortly after he tried to sell some, but got less than he was expecting. Then he started shopping the story.
Yet, he claims his calls to the school were done purely because he wanted to come clean about this whole situation. But, don't fear, it wasn't for nefarious reasons:

I never wanted to screw over their fans or anything like that. That was never my intention. I wish I had never even gone down there. It’s not worth it.

Yeah, hindsight is 20/20. Gurley shouldn't have signed those autographs, but Bryan Allen is the one that showed up in Athens with cash, shopped the story, and called UGA compliance. I'm sure Shane Smith will come out of the woodwork somewhere, too, but he's already a step ahead of Allen by letting his lawyer do the talking.

TD

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