Vols sophomore Jeremy Banks apologizes after video shows him cursing at cops during September arrest

Tennessee LB Jeremy Banks has apologized after a video emerged showing him cursing at police during a September arrest.

“I want to sincerely apologize to my family, the University of Tennessee and the law enforcement community,” Banks said in a statement released Tuesday by UT. “I deeply regret my language and attitude in the video. I have great respect for our police men and women, and I am embarrassed by my actions that night. That’s not who I am. I promise to be a better representative for the University of Tennessee moving forward.”

Banks, 20, was stopped by UTPD for making an illegal U-turn the Sunday morning after Tennessee’s win over UT Chattanooga. While stopped, officers found Banks had a warrant for failure to appear in court regarding a July misdemeanor citation (driving with a suspended license), resulting in his arrest.

Banks’ interactions ranged from complimentary to hostile and challenging. At one point he told the officers that he had, “never met no police officers as nice as y’all,” but he also said he should have “tested their speed” to avoid arrest and told a woman on a ride-along, “Ma’am, I don’t think you want to be an intern, because where I’m from, we shoot at cops. I’m from Memphis, Tennessee.”

WBIR obtained and released video of the arrest, which contains multiple instances of not suitable for work language:

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.