Georgia football's Jake Pope addresses 'stupid' viral video following loss to Ole Miss
Georgia football's redshirt sophomore safety Jake Pope had some explaining to do after a video of him viral on social media for celebrating with some Ole Miss fans following the Bulldog's 28-10 loss to the Rebels. On Monday afternoon, Pope took to X/Twitter and Instagram where he addressed the video and apologized to his Georgia […]
Georgia football's redshirt sophomore safety Jake Pope had some explaining to do after a video of him viral on social media for celebrating with some Ole Miss fans following the Bulldog's 28-10 loss to the Rebels.
On Monday afternoon, Pope took to X/Twitter and Instagram where he addressed the video and apologized to his Georgia teammates, coaches and fans.
Pope also pointed out that the fan he was caught celebrating with happened to be a childhood friend and former Buford high school teammate. He claimed his reaction was pure excitement from just being surprised to see them.
Here's what Pope had to say about the incident:
“I wanted to address the videos that have been put out after the Ole Miss game. First and foremost I wanted to say sorry for the way it was taken out of perspective and has caused distractions/commotion for my teammates and coaches. This is not representative of who I am in any way. In no way, shape or form would I ever celebrate a loss in this program and anyone who knows me well knows that. My long time family friends had came up to me unexpectedly after the game as I was trying to get off the field to safety and were extremely excited to see me after the game. I was also surprised to see them as well and that’s why you saw the reaction that I gave via the video.
"They are also very close with my former teammate and long time friend on the Ole Miss team which is why they have those jerseys on. (They have came to my games as well.) I am Georgia through thick and thin and have never loved a group of guys more than the guys I go to battle with day in and day out. Lastly, and once again I’m sorry to my teammates, coaches and fans all around about the way that video looked and I choose to move forward and get ready for a great rest of the season with my brothers. Go dawgs.”
Kirby Smart on Jake Pope's Viral Video: 'What an Idiot'
Head coach Kirby Smart also briefly addressed the video during Monday's press conference, calling Pope an "idiot" and "stupid," before noting he has more important things to worry about this week.
"What an idiot. Just stupid," Smart said. "I didn't see it until today. He's embarrassed about it. He's upset about it. That's obviously a childhood friend of his, they grew up and played with at Buford. Hadn't seen him in forever. Just not real smart. But to be honest with you, I don't have time to waste energy on that. You know what I'm saying. My focus is on Tennessee. I'm not real worried on that."
Smart isn't wrong about where his and the rest of the team's energy should be considering No. 11 Georgia has much bigger fish to fry as they look to stay in the playoff race and redeem themselves against No. 6 Tennessee on Saturday night.
