Athens — Wade Mason has left his position as Georgia’s assistant men’s basketball coach, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was informed by a person with knowledge of the matter.
According to the source, Mason is in the process of terminating his two-year contract and will not be coaching the Bulldogs in the SEC Tournament or in their final five regular-season games. Mason’s chances of making it back in the second year of his contract are zero.
Following Georgia’s defeat at LSU on February 16, Mason was given a paid suspension following a physical altercation with Brian Fish, the director of player development, in the locker room during halftime. The incident and suspension were initially reported by the AJC.
Mason’s decision to leave Georgia was made jointly, according to a person with knowledge of the circumstances.
A request for comment from UGA was not immediately answered. Mason remained silent as well.
The university suspended Mason after the halftime incident was reported to the human resources section of the athletic association. Mason got weary of Fish’s behaviour towards players during practices and games, according to a person with knowledge of the circumstances. Mason was in the team’s headquarters last Thursday afternoon, scouting for Tuesday’s game against Texas A&M, when he was informed of his suspension.
Bulldogs coach Tom Crean made his only remarks regarding the event in public during Saturday’s loss to Ole Miss. “Obviously, it’s an unfortunate situation that we’re dealing with,” Crean said. “But we try to keep our focus on basketball, and everything was handled correctly.”
Mason got a job.
