Former University of Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett accused police officers of ruining his reputation in a newly released video of his January arrest for public intoxication.
Bennett, who led the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships earlier this year, can be heard chastising Dallas-area cops from the back of a squad car, according to footage obtained by TMZ, and fussed about the tightness of his handcuffs.
“Reputation ruined. Everything I worked for 20 years, ruined. But ya’ll boys just looking out for me, aren’t ya? Thank you, sir,” the agitated Bennett said in the bodycam footage.
Cops reported to the scene in the early morning hours of Jan. 29, when a 911 caller described Bennett as “very” intoxicated, and that he had been “banging on doors” in the neighborhood and “yelling.”
When cops located the 25-year-old Bennett, they repeatedly asked to see his hands before putting him in cuffs.
Bennett, who said he had been in Dallas training, then failed to specify the exact area he was in.
The cops later asked if Bennett resided in the area, to which he responded his friend, former Bulldogs offensive lineman Owen Condon, did.
As the discussion continued, a police officer — who pointed out Bennett smelled of alcohol — asked where the quarterback had been prior.
Bennett was then seated in the back of a cop car, where he whined about the ordeal.
“The door shut and somebody fell asleep,” the quarterback said. “And now five million people gotta see it, don’t they? Thank you, boys, for looking out for me. You guys are the best.”
In the weeks following his arrest, Bennett expressed remorse for letting his loved ones down.
“It was a mistake that everybody’s aware of,” Bennett said during the NFL Scouting Combine in March, according to Pro Football Talk.
“I understand why that can’t happen. I’ve talked to coaches about it, talked to GMs. I’ve apologized to my family. That’s who I felt worse about; I felt like I let them down because no matter where I go now [people are going to know about it].”
A former walk-on at Georgia, Bennett quarterbacked the Bulldogs to national titles following the 2021 and 2022 seasons, including the 65-7 annihilation of TCU in January.
Bennett will be part of the 2023 NFL Draft, which gets underway later this month.