Tennessee head coaches hold rare joint press conference

Feb 28, 2016, 03:51

The joint news conference took place in the midst of a federal lawsuit that was filed February 9 against the university, in which six unidentified women alleged that Tennessee had violated Title IX laws in its handling of sexual assault cases.

"Is it being mentioned in recruiting?" Certainly. Are our kids asking questions of us? Are we concerned anywhere they go, whether it's the University of Tennessee everywhere in terms of their safety?

No one from the University of Tennessee's administration spoke in the news conference, including Athletic Director David Hart.

Swimming and diving coach Matt Kredich said the coaches welcome the microscope put on their campus so fans believe Tennessee is raising athletes of "exceptional" character.

While Jones said the football team does not have a culture problem, the football coach acknowledged Saturday that everyone involved with the program can do better.

The Title IX lawsuit filed earlier this month in Nashville has made UT's athletics culture a national topic. Bill Ramsey, the lawyer representing Tennessee, said in his motion the paragraph should be removed "because of the utter lack of relevance the decades-old allegation against Peyton Manning has to this lawsuit".

Germany warns against more debt as G20 set to begin in Shanghai
The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for this year's global growth by 0.2 percentage points last month to 3.4 percent. The news is a fresh blow for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe after three years of trying to kick-start growth with a raft of policies.

"Many of our players are great friends with our football guys", Warlick said.

There have been several sexual assault complaints made against Tennessee student-athletes over the last four years, including former football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams.

"Our hearts, our prayers, our feelings go out to the alleged victims". "They come watch us practice". I want to make sure we understand that. It hits at our soul. Tennessee's Academic Progress Rate has improved markedly since Jones' arrival.

And if Hart really felt the need to be somewhere else, should UT chancellor Jimmy Cheek not have said, "No, you support the guys in the line of fire"? We all have to imagine what's going through the athletic department's mind right now. I know we all feel for them.

But there is nothing positive about sexual assault allegations, and Jones made that point clear. He declined to discuss the specifics of the lawsuit.

Softball coach Karen Weekly said the softball team is one of the few teams in the nation that has access to the university's football facilities. Those stories aren't being told.

Zika cases in US
So far an increase in microcephaly cases and other neonatal malformations has only been reported in Brazil and French Polynesia. She traveled to some area in Central America, but outside of that, the department is not releasing any information about her.

"I don't want you to think in any way, shape or form that we don't feel for the alleged victims", said Jones, who added coaches are constantly trying to educate players. "But we have good people, and it's easy to judge when you don't live our day every day".

Mostly, though, the Tennessee coaches refused to address the legal issues at hand, and instead they mounted their public-relations campaign to defend the university and fight back against the scrutiny coming from the outside - both from the media and rival schools.

If she had a daughter, Warlick said she would not hesitate to enroll them at UT. She called allegations that campus leaders don't care absurd, saying students are the top priority. The women's golf coach Judi Pavon said any woman golfer is treated as well as Josh Dobbs.

"You'll see it. It's in our amended complaint", Smith said.

Smith has emphasized the focus of the lawsuit is on the university itself and that Manning's situation was referenced only to show how Tennessee has handled reports of player misconduct dating to 1995.

"We've worked very hard to build our culture", Jones said.

Gov Snyder addresses plan to replace lead pipes in Flint
But not without attempts by Democrats to add money to forgive all of Flint residents' water bills, instead of just 65 percent. But long-term prospects are less certain , since the lion's share of Arizona's water supply comes from the Colorado River.

"In a traditional corporation, I'd say, 'halt advertising.' Putting out happy messages during a crisis" is ill advised, Bernstein said. Certainly. It hasn't changed us. "I hope that in 10 years people will look back and say that a lot of changes that have come and some of the issues that we're talking about have really started with the University of Tennessee discussion".