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Local photographer lost over $6,000 in camera equipment due to Georgia-Georgia Tech melee

Kevin Cunningham

By Kevin Cunningham

Published:

Rivalry Week is something else. Hatred is the only word that seems to sum everything up perfectly during that week.

Does Ohio State hate Michigan? Absolutely. Does Minnesota hate Wisconsin? Of course.

And in the SEC, do in-state rivals Georgia and Georgia Tech hate each other? You bet. So on Saturday, during the Bulldogs-Yellow Jackets game, a fight broke out between Georgia’s George Pickens and Georgia Tech’s Tre Swilling.

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The fight took place near a sideline and it ended up bear near a local photographer (Perry McIntyre Jr.) who was covering the game. The fight got so close that Swilling’s elbow knocked into the photographer’s lens, which snapped it, and broke the Nikon D500 camera in half.

The estimated amount of damages?

Over $6,000.

Yeah, that’s rough.

“There’s nowhere to go over there,” said McIntyre, a retired teacher who has been shooting Georgia football games for 40 years. “It’s really tight. I didn’t even realize what was going on at first because I was shooting the touchdown and celebration 50 yards across the field in the other side of the end zone. Next thing I know, they’re flying into me and my camera goes flying out of my hands.”

What’s the next move for McIntyre? He’s already talked to Georgia about it and he has considered speaking to Georgia Tech about the matter.

Aside from that, though, he has started a GoFundMe page.

The page is titled, “Tech wrecked my camera gear.” It has a goal of raising $7,500. As of Tuesday morning, it has raised $2,553.

“Here’s the thing: As a photographer, you assume some risks when you’re shooting a game, but you don’t expect to get hit when the action is 50 yards across the field,” McIntyre said. “There’s shared culpability here because Pickens was swinging at Swilling and it was his elbow that caught my camera. So, it was both players’ fault. But it shouldn’t have happened.”

Pickens was flagged for fighting and got ejected from the game. He will miss the first half of Georgia’s next game against LSU — the SEC Championship. Swilling, who was also engaged in the fight, did not get penalized.

McIntyre said that he hopes to cover the title game with borrowed gear from other photographers.

Kevin Cunningham

Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.