Every Tennesee head coach attends joint presser about Vols culture
In a move that is most likely unprecedented, Tennessee trotted the head coach for each sport in which the university participates onto a stage on Tuesday morning to hold a joint press conference about the culture of the athletic department.
This is a response to national scrutiny that stems from a lawsuit that was filed by a group of women that raised questions about the treatment of females by Vols student-athletes.
When asked during the event, Vols football coach Butch Jones indicated that this press conference was a “spur of the moment decision” by the coaches in an attempt to clear the air, which could explain why athletics director Dave Hart and Chancellor Jimmy Cheek were not present.
Vols men’s basketball coach Rick Barnes, who has only been on campus since April, opened the question-and-answer session with a statement:
"We have great students that we work with everyday. We don't want the stereotype out there (that they don't have good kids)" Barnes
— Paul Fortenberry (@Volquest_Paul) February 23, 2016
Barnes: "We have to stand up and tell you all the good side of it too. We have to do that."
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) February 23, 2016
#Vols hoops coach Rick Barnes: I've been in this profession 39 years, and I've never been a part of something like this.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) February 23, 2016
His statement was followed by one from Vols softball coach Karen Weekly:
Karen Weekly saying a lot of nice things about football and how the rest of the teams can use the indoor football facility.
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) February 23, 2016
Softball coach Karen Weekly: I've been here 15 years, and the culture around here has never been better.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) February 23, 2016
Weekly: The image that's being displayed about our university is unfair.
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) February 23, 2016
The forum was then opened to media questions.
Here are some of the highlights:
"Everything is about the alleged victims. We take those things very, very seriously," Butch Jones. "But also, it's not who we are."
— Paul Fortenberry (@Volquest_Paul) February 23, 2016
"They're embarrassed by it, they're upset about it," Jones on his players during this situation.
— Paul Fortenberry (@Volquest_Paul) February 23, 2016
Jones: We're being stereotyped here, and I take it personally. We've had some kids make tough choices, but we have great character kids.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) February 23, 2016
Jones: "We talk about choices. We talk about decisions. We talk about that quite frequently."
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) February 23, 2016
WBB coach Holly Warlick: if I had a daughter, I wouldn't hesitate to have her here at Tennessee. This is a special place.
— Wes Rucker (@wesrucker247) February 23, 2016
Holly Warlick says the perception that the Tennessee treats women unfairly is "totally not true."
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) February 23, 2016
Warlick, 'It's disheartening to see this out there because women on this campus don't lack for anything.'
— Rob Lewis (@Volquest_Rob) February 23, 2016
Butch Jones on the recruiting impact of the negative headlines/lawsuit: "Our competitors are using it against us."
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) February 23, 2016
Jones says he encourages visitors to spend the night and see Knoxville/community for themselves.
— Paul Fortenberry (@Volquest_Paul) February 23, 2016
Jones: "If we didn't have confidence in the mission of the athletic department in every individual sport, we wouldn't be standing here."
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) February 23, 2016
Swimming and diving coach Matt Kredich introduces self as 2013 Spring Game defensive coordinator. This is weird.
— Matt Slovin (@MattSlovin) February 23, 2016
Ralph Weekly said he was a federal agent before, and said he tells the players nothing good happens after 10 p.m.
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) February 23, 2016
Pensky: "I don't think anyone here thinks there's a 'five-alarm' situation here. … The things being alleged haven't changed our world."
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) February 23, 2016
Penske: We don't fear, we as coaches don't lay in bed at 11 at night and say, 'Oh my gosh, where are we? What's happening to our kids?'
— John Brice (@John_BriceVQ) February 23, 2016
Brian Pensky on the absence of Dave Hart and Jimmy Cheek: "We're here speaking on their behalf."
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) February 23, 2016
Weekly: "If you want to go back 20 years and accumulate incidents, I think a lot of places would have a similar story to Tennessee."
— Dustin Dopirak (@TennesseeBeat) February 23, 2016
Butch: "We all feel" for the alleged victims. That's our role as coaches and parents, to educate and prevent this stuff from happening.
— Patrick Brown (@patrickbrownTFP) February 23, 2016
