Report: Tennessee officials sat with A.J. Johnson, Michael Williams during police investigation
By Adam Spencer
Published:
As former Tennessee players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams stand trial for a rape that allegedly occurred in 2014, information is coming out about strange police procedures that were in place during the questioning following the incident.
As prosecutors made opening statements on Monday, they said that former Tennessee senior associate athletic director Mike Ward sat in on the police interviews of the players.
A report from KnoxNews.com says prosecutors criticized that allowance during their opening statements:
Mike Ward, then the University of Tennessee’s senior associate athletic director, sat in on every interview of UT football players in the case against Johnson, a star Vols linebacker, and fellow player Michael Williams, prosecutors revealed in court Monday. The pair are standing trial on charges they raped a female athlete during a party at Johnson’s South Knoxville apartment in November 2014.
Even prosecutors criticized the tactic in opening statements to the jury.
Under ordinary police procedure, “you would never have a third-party civilian in that room with you,” Kyle Hixson, an assistant Knox County prosecutor, told jurors.
As the trial continues, expect more to come out about this interaction between police and the athletic department at Tennessee.
Check out the KnoxNews.com article here for more details of the trial and what went on back in 2014.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
