Georgia Football Player Cut from Team After Allegedly Fleeing Police to Stop His Mother from Getting Speeding Ticket

A University of Georgia football player was cut from the team after he was arrested on accusation of leading police on a high-speed car chase in order to avoid getting his mother a speeding ticket.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart announced at the top of his weekly press conference on Monday, Nov. 24 that Nyier Daniels, a redshirt freshman who has only played as a backup in three inconsequential games for the Bulldogs this season, has been cut from the team in light of his and his mother’s arrests Sunday.

Smart, 49, told reporters on Monday that he had “not had a chance to talk to him or his family, but obviously he will no longer be with us.”

The Associated Press, ESPN, and local WSBTV reported that Daniels had successfully evaded police during the alleged car chase, in which he was said to have driven more than 100 mph, but was later arrested after police learned he was a Georgia football player and contacted the team’s coaches.

ESPN reported that a Georgia athletics department official later brought Daniels back to the police station in Commerce, Ga., to turn himself in. Once there, according to a police report obtained by ESPN, officers alleged that Daniels “seemed not to care about the situation” and flippantly responded to their concerns about the car chase, telling them: “Y’all can’t drive.”

Daniels allegedly told police he led them on the high-speed chase because "he did not want his mother to get a ticket.”

The chase reportedly began Sunday morning after a police officer pulled over Daniels’ mother Brandi Canada-Green for driving through a stop sign in downtown Commerce, Ga., where posted speed limits are at 25 mph, according to ESPN. Moments later, according to the arrest report cited by ESPN, Daniels reportedly sped past the scene in his own car while driving more than 100 mph.

The officer writing Daniels’ mother a ticket left that scene and chased after Daniels, according to reports, who allegedly had his two younger siblings in the car with him at the time. Daniels’ mother allegedly then moved her car in an effort to block another police officer from pulling out to help chase after her son. 

Canada-Green allegedly also drove off from the scene, according to Commerce Police’s statement to ESPN, driving more than 100 mph herself before she was caught and arrested on one felony count of attempting to elude a police officer and five misdemeanors, including willful obstruction of law enforcement officers and reckless driving, according to the outlet.

Daniels, meanwhile, lost officers while speeding down Interstate 85, according to the AP. He was later charged with three felonies, including one count of fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer and two counts of cruelty to children due to his siblings being in the car with him at the time. Daniels also faces 10 misdemeanor charges related to the chase, according to the AP.

PEOPLE reached out to the Commerce Police Department for comment but did not immediately hear back on Tuesday.