ATHENS — Over the weekend, a message critical of Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity appeared on a sign outside a Subway restaurant in Athens. After at least one person complained, the message was removed.
The sign appeared on the Subway on Prince Avenue in Athens. It read in block letters: “NEW UGA ATHLETIC DIRECTOR WANTED. APPLY HERE. GO DAWGS.”
By Sunday night the first two sentences had been removed. Only “GO DAWGS” remained.
Brandi Lavender, who said she is the manager of the location, said it wasn’t her decision to put the sign up. It was made by an area consultant, who could not be immediately reached for comment.
Lavender said it was her decision to take it down after at least one person, who said he worked at UGA’s athletic department, complained in person about the sign. The person’s identity could not be confirmed, according to Lavender, and a UGA spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment. (The person was not McGarity himself, according to Lavender, who viewed security footage.)
“I took it down because we’re in support of the football team and UGA athletics in general,” Lavender said on Monday.
Subway is also one of the sponsors for UGA athletics, as Lavender pointed out, and is one of the food chains that will be present at Sanford Stadium concession stands this season.
The sign as of Monday morning:
This isn’t the first time McGarity has been called out by a local establishment. After the firing of Mark Richt, a bar put up a sign saying “we have beer as cold as Greg McGarity’s heart.”