The UT football team is just a reflection of our society

[webbmaster]

"The UT football team is just a reflection of our society."
-Phil Fulmer

AP Sports
Two Tennessee Players Arrested in Fight
By Associated Press
April 12, 2005, 9:03 PM EDT

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Two Tennessee freshmen were charged Tuesday with aggravated assault for their role in fights that broke out between football players and fraternity members at an on-campus party last month.

Jerod Mayo and Robert Ayers, who redshirted last season, turned themselves in and were released from the Knox County Detention Facility on Tuesday.

The arrest of Mayo and Ayers comes two days after quarterback Brent Schaeffer and receiver Bret Smith were charged with misdemeanor assault for allegedly hitting a student who had been arguing with Schaeffer's girlfriend in a dorm early Sunday.

A total of 11 players have been either charged or cited since February with crimes ranging from underage drinking and shoplifting to assault.

"We've got some very immature young men on this football team, and certainly, if not immature, socially unadjusted at this time," coach Phillip Fulmer said Tuesday. "I'm extremely embarrassed and disappointed in the actions of a number of our players over the last several months. We have a large majority of our guys doing the right thing and a few that have embarrassed us in a very big way."

Fulmer believes Mayo, a linebacker from Hampton, Va., was not involved and has been misidentified. The coach also indicated Ayers, a defensive end from Clio, S.C., will not play until he decides otherwise.

Mayo issued a statement through the athletic department, claiming he did not take part in the incident.

Reserve linebacker Daniel Brooks, who was named as a suspect in a police report was not charged. Fulmer suspended him for the first two games of next season for repeated bad behavior, a decision he made several weeks ago but didn't announce until Tuesday.

Fulmer apologized to the university community, the school president, the athletic director and the team's fans. He was visibly angry and said his tolerance for misbehavior was very low.

"I'm not happy right now," he said.

All players will be suspended.....until the next game.

Really though, fighting with fraternity members? Sounds like a bunch of dedicated fans.

[Bankermane]

Weedeater, got you a new avatar.

[webbmaster]

Weedeater, got you a new avatar.

Nice!

[bigwater]

weedeater... homer...

[mudsucker]

When are you guys going to get it! All these so called instituts of "higher learning" are full of these, half educated, inner city thugs, MTV watching, gangsta rap loving, gun toting, no morals, wanna turn pro for the dough type jocks! It is not just UT, LSU, UCLA, MSU, but all across this land of ours. Bring back the academic standards as they once were and "WEED" the thugs and gangsta homies out! The proceding is not racial as it should apply to any bonehead that would stoop to such behaviour while getting a free ride at our universities!!!! Screw 'em!!!
Y'all have a nice day now!

[Bankermane]

Who wants to watch a bunch of slow, smart, white guys play football.

[Po Monkey Lounger]

A hippity hop gangsta weekend: 44 hours of fighting and fornicating, and 4 hours of fixing flats.

Not much the coaches can do to totally eradicate such behavior ----it happens at EVERY school. One of the problems is that the athletes no longer are allowed to live in "athletic dorms", but instead must be mixed in with the rest of the student population, making it more difficult for the coaches to monitor their behavior off the field. Due to the pressure of winning, the coaches are tempted to bring in a few talented players of questionable character. Such is usually rationalized by the phrases "give them another chance", we can "turn their life around", etc. etc. True enough, many times such questionable character players do turn their life around in a positive manner and turn into not only quality student athletes, but good citizens as well. But, just as often the experiment does not work, the player gets into trouble off the field and the consequences become well publicized for all to see, casting a negative shadow on a school's sports program when it happens. And to be fair to the accused athlete, it is important to concede that their behavior off the field will be much more highly scrutinized and publicized than the same behavior by a non-athlete student. Such is not fair, but it is the new reality of life.

Not sure what the answer is to this problem. Football is a brutal game that is not for the faint of heart. Recruitment of only "choir boys" will probably lead to a good choir, but not much of a football team. Every coach is going to miscalculate in their evaluations of a few. And more often than we like, the coach may not realize the miscalculation until some misdeed is committed off the field and the schit hits the fan.

Not taking up for ol Phat Phil , but we all, as SEC programs, live in glass houses. Be carefull throwing stones.

[webbmaster]

Valid points....however, maybe you missed this part:

A total of 11 players have been either charged or cited since February with crimes ranging from underage drinking and shoplifting to assault.

Somebody is not doing their job correctly up there.

[bigwater]

weedmaster heres one we can agree on...

those bastrerds at ut get away with murder.. nothing seems to stick to them.. yes i know i give you a hard time weedman.. but your program was punished just as mine was..

meanwhile the list goes on and on and nothing seems to matter with regards to ut...

in the last 10 years i can think of some incidents that were just swept under the rug.. maybe some of you can eloborate futher..

(1) was it not common knowledege that their playes had persons other than themselves writing school papers... didn't a professor or two quit because of the way the univ. bent the rules for the atheletes???

(2) what was the flapp over tee martin and some money that was paid to him.. did he not admit that he received this mystery money??

(3) this happend like 2 years ago.. some female student was sexually assulted by some football players.. she reported this to the university cops who more or less turned this matter over to coach fullmer..
university of tenn coverd this up...

none of this has stuff that i can remember has got them in any trouble with the ncaa.. amazing...

[GordonGekko]

Boys...don't get me started on UT...really, my uncle used to coach there in the 80's with Johnny Majors...he was D-line coach...Fulmer was O-line coach...still no love lost for the Vols....

Some of this is just stuff that goes along with being in college (underage drinking...and a little fighting)...how much of this would have been handled internally 20-30 years ago? A pretty good bit...but now the media is all over it.

However, Fulmer has got a bunch of thugs on his hands...all because he's trying to make sure he keeps winning.... No school is perfect...but the tale about UT players getting 6 days use out of their jerzee's may be correct...playin' on Saturday, and picking up trash on the interstate Mon. - Friday.... Heck most of 'em are good kids, problem is the few trouble makers drag the others into it with 'em...one gets into a fight and his buddy thinks he has to help out, after all they are teamates....

[nomsduckhunter]

This is funny. This is one of the first posts that UM, MSU and Bama all agree on. I'm glad UT could bring you all together.
Mudsucker is right, it's everywhere. Higher profile schools just get noticed more.

These are still just kids, you can insert thuds here, far away from home with girls, drinking and plenty of trouble to get into.

Bigwater...not trying to single you out but there is a lot of crap on the internet that is untrue. (Tee Martins case is one)

GordonGekko...Are you saying you don't have any of these thuds at Georgia??? Golston and White

What I am saying is it is everywhere, not just UT. Yes we have major problems and I hope Fulmer nips it in the bud. If he has to kick them off the team, which he has done, I hope he gets rid of all of them!

Boys, only in the south do you find this kind of passion.

[webbmaster]

This is one of the first posts that UM, MSU and Bama all agree on.

Actually, everyone in the country agrees on this.

Higher profile schools just get noticed more.

I seriously doubt you'll find a division 1-AA team or any school for that matter that has had 11 arrests in the past 2 months.

These are still just kids

Exactly. But there seems to be a pattern here for this particular group of "kids."

but there is a lot of crap on the internet that is untrue.

No arguments there. But everything he mentioned wasn't taken from an internet message board. I'd be more than happy to dig up articles, but my stomach is weak this morning and I'm sure my time would be better spent improving my grammar to impress the Mississippi scholars around here.

Are you saying you don't have any of these thuds at Georgia???

No one is denying there are thuds (isn''t it thugs?) at every school. But 11 players arrested?

Yes we have major problems and I hope Fulmer nips it in the bud.

I wouldn't hold your breath. He seems to have a knack for escaping any dirty business. He also has a knack for beating us 9 out of 10 times...I won't deny that and I'll save you the reminder.

Phils day will come...and its coming soon. This isn't my bitterness talking, it's just karma.

Call me a typical Alabama fan blaming TN on its problems or whatever you'd like. Just be sure to come back and discuss it went its all said and done!

[nomsduckhunter]

I wish I could say I was disagreeing with all of this but I can't. Realilty has a way of biting everyone in the butt just when you think all is smooth. I read about this weeks ago and to be quite honest, I was shocked that this just now came out. Is our PR guy better than yours?

The bottom line for all of this is most of these kids have a free ride thru college and have the potential to make a lot of money in a short time. It is very sad that so much can be thrown away on an impulse.

Thud is what happened when I read all that....
Thug is who caused it...

What hurt me is GG even jumped in with UM, MSU and Bama. ET TU!!
Am I all by myself

As Arnold says.....I'll be bac.

[GordonGekko]

No, these things happen everywhere...just some more than others.... I like Fulmer, he's as nice a guy as you're likely to meet and a darn solid coach. But, he doesn't run the tightest ship...because quite frankly you can't afford to...or you'll become another Notre Dame....

I guess my real point is this...most of this stuff is only big because of the media. UT is on the hot seat now, but they aren't the only school with thugs in the program...guys like Channing Crowder.

How many college students get into fights...or drink underage...however, it's only a story when an athelete does it. They are only kids...sometimes we lose sight of this.

[bigwater]

these aren't just kids.. gordon...

these are kids who are given a free education in return for them to play a game... they should be held to a higher level and the should appreciate the opportunity that has been afforded to them ....