A day after Tennessee head coach Butch Jones was said to be accused of calling a former player a traitor in legal documents, Tennessee athletics director Dave Hart defended the football coach of the Vols.
“I trust in Butch Jones implicitly,” Hart said during a press conference Thursday, per The Tennessean. The press conference was scheduled before details from a federal lawsuit suggesting Jones mishandled a former Tennessee football player who had helped an alleged victim of sexual abuse.
Former Tennessee wide receiver Drae Bowles was attacked days after lending his help to an alleged victim of sexual assault allegedly committed by former Tennessee football players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams. The plaintiff in the lawsuit claimed Bowles was then called a traitor by Jones and ostracized by Jones and the team afterward. Jones reportedly called Bowles to apologize for the alleged traitor statement, and reports suggest Bowles previously claimed Jones handled the situation properly. This is the claim of the plaintiff, not Bowles.
Jones issued a public statement late Wednesday in response to the information revealed in the latest legal documents made public.
“The assertion that I ever attempted to belittle or demean a young man for taking action to help another person is absolutely false,” Jones said in his statement. “To the contrary, I did all I could to assist the former student in question. During the course of the judicial process, campus officials, as well as the young man’s own words, will clearly establish that I have done nothing wrong. I will fight all of these false attacks on my character, and I know that once this process has been completed, my reputation will be affirmed.”
