The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) fired its two-time Pulitzer Prize-nominated investigative journalist, Alan Judd, after nearly 25 years, according to the AJC.
Judd wrote a recent story criticizing the University of Georgia’s football program for how they ostensibly dealt with sexual abuse allegations against their student-athletes.
However, the AJC did not fully retract the article.
The editors and attorneys of the newspaper looked over the June 27 story after Georgia chief counsel Michael M. Raeber sent them a nine-page letter July 11, demanding Judd’s piece be 100% retracted.
“We identified errors that fell short of our standards, and we corrected them,” AJC Editor-in-Chief Leroy Chapman said in a statement shared by the outlet. “A critical part of our mission is to hold people and institutions accountable. It is a responsibility we take seriously. We must hold ourselves to this same standard and acknowledge when we fall short, which we have here.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has issued corrections to a recent investigation into the University of Georgia football program’s handling of sexual abuse allegations against players and recruits. https://t.co/V97L5wmzAR
— Atlanta Journal-Constitution (@ajc) July 19, 2023
Now appearing on AJC’s website is an updated and corrected version of the article.
“We apologize to the university and our readers for the errors,” Chapman said.
The AJC said it ended up finding mistakes but did not find any fabrications — contrary to Raeber’s allegations.
The outlet determined it couldn’t find any evidence of the assertion on Judd’s part — that 11 Georgia football players since 2016 (when Kirby Smart became head coach) were allowed to stay on the team after allegations of violence from women. (RELATED: Georgia Fan Completely Embarrasses Himself In Cringe Fashion After Not Knowing Who The Legendary Aaron Murray Is)
“The ‘precise count of 11 players’ could not be substantiated under the AJC’s standards,” according to the outlet.