It’s Official: Garcia Dismissed At Carolina

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A weird day in Columbia just got weirder.  The State is reporting that sources have revealed to the paper that quarterback Stephen Garcia — he of five suspensions and a recent on-field demotion — has been dismissed from the South Carolina football team.

UPDATE — According to The Charleston Post & Courier, athletic director Eric Hyman has released the following statement:


“Being a student-athlete at the University of South Carolina is a privilege, not a right and we remind all of our student-athletes that there are consequences for their actions.  For Stephen to return to and remain with the football squad this fall, we agreed on several established guidelines.  Unfortunately, he has not been able to abide by those guidelines and has therefore forfeited his position on the roster.  We wish him the best of luck as he moves forward in life.”


Steve Spurrier had the following comments:


“We are all saddened that this has occurred.  We all feel like we’ve given Stephen numerous opportunities to be a student-athlete here at South Carolina.  Obviously, he has chosen not to follow the guidelines of his reinstatement contract.  We wish him the best.”


GamecockCentral.com — the Rivals site covering USC — reports that two sources confirmed to the site that “Garcia flunked a substance-abuse test.”

What a sad end to a career that’s had more ups and downs than a toilet seat.

Gamecock fans will now hope that Connor Shaw can continue to play as well as he did last Saturday against Kentucky.