The Tennessee football program has endured a tough couple of weeks for its reputation, and Vols coach Butch Jones decided to break his silence with a three-minute statement to the media at Saturday’s men’s basketball game against LSU.

According to The Associated Press, Jones defended the culture of his program amidst a growing list of complaints.

”We’ve worked very hard to build our culture,” Jones said. ”We’ll continue to defend it, but we’re very proud of what we have here.”

On Feb. 9, a group of women has filed a federal lawsuit against the university for its handling of alleged sexual assaults involving student athletes, which has brought back the ghosts of a two-decade old incident involving former QB Peyton Manning and an athletic trainer.

It also claimed that members of the Vols football team threatened harm against former Vols player Drae Bowles for helping an alleged rape victim who claimed to be a victim of former Tennessee players A.J. Johnson and Mike Williams.

On Wednesday night, Vols JUCO transfer Alexis Johnson was arrested for aggravated assault and false imprisonment after a “play fight” with a woman allegedly turned too physical. He was suspended from the team.

That came just a day after former Vols offensive lineman Mack Crowder was arrested on five felony charges, four of which stem from alleged transmission of material harmful to minors.

Needless to say, the reputation of Jones’ program was under attack and the coach felt the need to clear the air.

”We take all accusations very seriously,” Jones said. ”Can we continue to improve? Yeah, just like any team, company or organization. But our players have done a great job, and we have great people here at Tennessee.”

”The people that know us, they know our football program, they understand what’s going on here with all the positivity,” Jones said. ”They understand that. We just have to continue to work and grow and get better and let it galvanize us closer as a football team and a football program. People who understand what we’re all about, they understand we have a good culture in place.”