Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs fire equipment manager accused of planting shower camera

Georgia fired its long-time football equipment manager after he was charged with three counts of illegal eavesdropping or surveillance.

Kevin Purvis was booked into Athens-Clarke County (Ga.) jail on Friday after being accused of placing a hidden camera in the Bulldogs' locker room shower. The 37-year-old also faces a felony charge of possessing a Schedule II controlled substance and a misdemeanor charge for marijuana possession.

The university said no student-athletes were "victims" in the incident.

"As soon as it learned of the incident, the Athletic Association notified the University of Georgia Police Department, who began their investigation," the university said in a statement. "The University took immediate action, and the employee was terminated early in the investigation. Based on the findings of the police investigation, no student-athletes were victims in this incident."

The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported Purvis was arrested about a month after an unidentified person found a camera hidden in a shower area of the football team's practice facility at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.

Police were called and an investigation began. Arrest warrants for Purvis were executed Friday, and Purvis turned himself in that night. Dawgnation.com reported Purvis was released on an $8,500 bond early Saturday afternoon.

"Disappointed. Upset," head coach Kirby Smart told Dawgnation. "But I'm very pleased that it didn't involve any of our student-athletes, and that's the key. Right now I'm focused on spring ball."

Purvis joined the Georgia program in 2006. His primary responsibilities centered on ordering and accounting for the Bulldogs' football equipment and assisting in equipment efforts on game days, according to the Georgia athletic department website.

It is not known who the victim or victims were of the illegal surveillance.