One word used by University of Tennessee Athletic Director Dave Hart at a press conference addressing the recent allegations brought under Title IX against UT athletes and its athletic programs may be the key to the understanding the problems at the school.
In his follow-up to the “coaches-only” media event, Hart declared that he has “empathy” for the alleged victims who filed the suit. Empathy is defined as: “the experience of understanding another person’s condition from their perspective.” So how can a middle-aged male college administrator possibly think that he has “empathy” for female teenagers and young adult women who have allegedly been the victims of sexual predators? (He does point out that he has “a fantastic wife, two beautiful daughters, and three adorable granddaughters” so perhaps he can have empathy as a husband, father and grandfather, but not as a victim.)
Hart also said that he “implicitly” trusts head football coach Butch Jones. He also mentioned his trust in Jones’ “work ethic,” but does that really have anything to do with trust when it comes to managing an alleged “hostile sexual environment”? In college football terms, “work ethic” would more likely be used to describe a commitment to winning games – perhaps at all costs.
But that “work ethic” may be the most important thing to Hart: Jones has (or seems to be in the process of) turning the program around with a 21-17 record over three seasons, going 9-4 last year rewarded with a trip to a respectable bowl (Outback).
Even without the proof of veracity, the mere allegations against Jones specifically could shorten his tenure if the tensions run too high. Jones has been rewarded for his success by being the State of Tennessee’s highest paid public employee, and is owed about $20.5 million through 2020 unless the state can wiggle out from under that obligation through a “for-cause provision” that would likely be used if Jones is chosen to take the fall.
Based on an ESPN article that recounts “ridiculous quotes” from the coaches’ presser, it seems that Jones isn’t the only one who doesn’t “get it”. In general, the article points out that most of what the coaches said seemed to do more to acknowledge the situation than refute it.
Matt Kredich, who coaches men’s and women’s swimming and diving, opined that the fact that swimmers who are “scantily clothed” in close proximity to one another can avoid sexually harassing each other is a point in the athletic department’s favor. Ralph Weekly, of the husband and wife team that co-coach the softball team, says that he tells his players that “nothing good happens after 10 p.m.”. That’s assuming, first, that none of the alleged incidents have happened before 10 p.m. and, second, that if something DOES happen to you after 10 p.m., it’s your own fault because you were warned not to be out. To clarify, Hart commented on Weekly’s statement, saying he’s not sure that 10 p.m. is the “magic hour” but if bad things happen at night, it’s “part of the choice that you’re (assuming he means the victim?) making.”
Karen Weekly made what is almost a “if they can do it, why should we get in trouble for it” statement saying that “a lot of places would have a similar story” if you “go back 20 years and accumulate incidents.”
Maybe the most telling of the comments came from the coach in the klieg light. Jones actually acknowledged that the problem is so real that the school’s rivals are using it against them in recruiting.
While the Peyton Manning angle may have been the sensationalism factor when the lawsuit first hit the press, the “traitor” incident involving Drae Bowles seems to have taken the front and center position now. In fact, UT has filed a motion to strike the reference to Manning in the lawsuit, citing its “utter lack of relevance.”
Whatever happened between Bowles and Jones, and the incidents with other members of the football team after Bowles’ defense of an alleged assault victim, some of the evidence supports Bowles’ “he said” version: one, Curt Maggitt, the player accused of punching Bowles in the mouth in the UT locker room, directed all questions about the incident to his attorney, and two, Bowles transferred to UT-Chattanooga after the 2015 football season.
Enough other examples of the “hostile sexual environment” exist that have already been addressed either by the University or by local law enforcement, in some cases finding some form of discipline to be warranted, that Bowles’ allegations are believable. Just those mentioned in the lawsuit that started the media circus provide enough ammunition.
Two of those mentioned in the suit have already been indicted on aggravated rape charges and are scheduled to stand trial this summer. Charges were made against linebacker A.J. Johnson in November 2014 and, to Jones’ credit, he was suspended from the team, even though he was the leading tackler on the Vols’ defense. It was, however, his second offense: he had been arrested the previous year for purchasing alcohol while underage and then resisting arrest. The other player, defensive back Michael Williams, was a walk-on but did have 23 tackles in 10 games for the Vols in his sophomore season. While speedy justice does not seem to be a concern — the indictments occurred a year ago and the trial is still months away — the players’ attorneys have blamed some of that delay on the inability to obtain some social media records needed for their defense.
Other players have now been named in the lawsuit, including Von Pearson who is currently vying for a spot on a professional roster at the NFL combine. Pearson is accused of sexual assault in the lawsuit but he was never formally charged by police. He was, however, allegedly found to have violated the University’s code of conduct. The alleged incident happened in February 2015 but that didn’t keep Pearson off the team – maybe because of his “work ethic”: he was the Vols’ leading receiver last season.
The other player now named in the suit, Alexis Johnson, has never played a down as Tennessee. In fact, he just transferred to the school in January as the top defensive tackle and overall No. 14 prospect in the ESPN JC50. He was suspended from the team immediately.
While UT is certainly bearing the brunt in the spotlight right now, the problem isn’t exclusive to Knoxville. With over 106 schools under active investigation by the NCAA as of April 2015, including schools with prominent athletic programs like FSU and Baylor grabbing recent headlines, the problem seems to be pervasive.
FSU’s president John Thrasher made a more emphatic challenge to his school’s athletic program, saying that one sexual assault allegation is enough. Unlike UT’s Hart, he didn’t express any trust, “implicitly” or otherwise, in head football coach Jimbo Fisher or in any other coach. Instead, he seemed to put them all on notice saying “I have no tolerance for the type of behavior alleged in these cases.”
That the NCCA Executive Committee has to release a “Statement on Sexual Violence Prevention and Complaint Resolution” should raise alarms on every college campus it governs. While the guidance includes a direction to athletic departments that they should “[c]ooperate with but not manage, direct, control of interfere with college or university investigations,” it doesn’t explicitly in its one-page introduction (the guide is about 50 pages) require that they do so with off-campus authorities.
That omission may be a clue to where the buck stops on this issue.