Kirby Smart Forced To Delete ‘Happy Birthday’ Post For Awkward Reason

Similar to many college football coaches, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart never misses a birthday for one of his players. But on Sunday, that turned into an awkward situation when his X account sent a 'happy birthday' message to wide receiver Rara Thomas, who had been in the news recently for all the wrong reasons.

It did not take Smart long to delete the happy birthday post to Thomas, who has been suspended from the team after his Friday arrest on two counts of battery and one count of cruelty to children. According to college football expert Brett McMurphy, Smart deleted the post after 'about 10 minutes.'

For every Georgia player's birthday, Smart posts the same tweet. Since this one was deleted, we can only assume it read "Happy Birthday, Rara Thomas," with a photo of the player, like every tweet before it .

McMurphy was on top of this one, though. He caught the tweet in a matter of minutes and pointed out Smart's awkward mistake.

"Kirby’s Twitter wishes each player Happy Birthday," McMruphy wrote, 'quoting' the now-deleted post. "Awkward timing for Thomas, arrested Friday for cruelty to children-family violence, a 2nd degree felony & 2 misdemeanor counts of battery-family violence. He’s been suspended indefinitely."

Smart's likely not the one responsible for making these tweets. As McMurphy pointed out in the replies, it's likely automated or done by a staff member. But either way, it was an embarrassing situation for a program that's been taking a lot of heat over the last year for its off-the-field issues.

McMurphy sent a follow-up to his original post, as well:

"Kirby’s account deleted Happy Birthday to RaRa Thomas about 10 minutes after posting. He must not want Thomas, arrested Friday for cruelty to children-family violence (2nd degree felony) & 2 misdemeanor counts of battery-family violence, to have a Happy Birthday," McMurphy added.

Losing Thomas is a tough one for Georgia fans as they look to win their third national championship in four seasons this year. Thomas began his collegiate career by playing two seasons for Mississippi State, where he recorded 62 catches for 878 yards and 12 touchdowns.

After transferring to Georgia as one of the highest-rated players in the transfer portal, Thomas' production took a hit, but the talented receiver still posted 383 yards and one touchdown on 23 receptions.

Thomas was expected to play a bigger role in the Dawgs' offense this season now that leading receivers Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers have departed the program for the NFL.

The plan was for Thomas to compete for the starting role alongside Dillon Bell and Dominic Lovett in 2024. His production is expected to be replaced by Miami transfer Colbie Young and UGA-veteran Arian Smith.