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http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/2016/02/09/sweeping-sexual-assault-suit-filed-against-ut/79966450/?hootPostID=7fa0aa729099d89d0723ae391e6c1046

It was just a matter of time until a Title IX lawsuit was filed in Federal Court.  UT may or may not be able to buy itself out of this case. IMO this case will end up in court with UT likely to win if they followed Title IX guidelines. Due process is not overruled by Title IX. As long as UT had procedures in place that met Title IX and followed them, they should be safe. But you never know in Federal Court. It is odd that this suit relates only to alleged rapes involving football players and associates. IMO an out-of-court settlement with modifications to policy is likely the end result. Bottom line is you cannot convict or punish people based on accusations.

This  typical though.  Fire a salvo, blast it as publically as possible and then whine at the end

Well if nothing else comes of it, they should probably jettison the administrative review process particularly since Tennessee is the only state in the union using it.  When I was in school any sort of administrative review process for a student was a huge joke.  People would speak of "The Big Orange Screw".  Student government was a powerless rubber stamp puppet (and yet at other universities it has real power).

Granted that was a while back and things have changed, but just reading about the process it sounds too arbitrary.

Also it seems to me that the resignation of vice chancellor Rogers could be an issue.

This is what has me concerned that it isn't just smoke. Remember that whole Jenny Wright ordeal? At the time some of us who know her were sure she was being railroaded, and now I'm concerned that she and Rogers were whistleblowers who were quite effectively silenced. Boy, I hope that's not what happened though.

I'm worried. I hope UT has truly done everything in its power to foster the right culture on this campus WRT sexual harassment and assault but I think it's reasonable to doubt that.

Good comment.  I'm worried too.  It shouldn't even come close to requiring the prerequisite, "as a father of a daughter"... but being that I am, I'm especially sensitive to this kinda stuff.  I can't imagine being a parent involved in a situation where my daughter was wronged and then the very institution I entrusted and counted on to protect her does the opposite.  I hope it's not true and Granny made a good point, in each case Butch threw the kid off the team immediately.  I just hope the treatment of the potential victims was not improper.  My love of the game can only go so far.

I agree, and some of us have much more invested in UT these days than just sports fandom and a seal on our diplomas.

Campus sexual misconduct is certainly not a UT-only phenomenon. It's a national problem and we're all struggling to figure out how to change culture in a positive way. How institutions manage incidents is key and I really, really hope that UT (not just Butch-- who has seemingly done the right things) has been properly handling things.

and there's this: http://thebiglead.com/2016/02/09/lawsuit-claims-tennessee-football-players-assaulted-drae-bowles-for-helping-rape-victim/ (http://thebiglead.com/2016/02/09/lawsuit-claims-tennessee-football-players-assaulted-drae-bowles-for-helping-rape-victim/)

reading the above linked article, to me, shows a lot of contradiction. Bowles was jumped by players, yet testified to the grand jury that he wasn't and that the victim didn't tell him that she was assaulted. Anyone else think that's a bit weird?

I'd consider the possibility that Bowles was torn about what the "right thing to do" was between an apparent assault victim and his friends and teammates-- especially if he wasn't sure what really happened to her.

So he may not be telling the whole story about one part or another to avoid getting people in trouble when he's not sure they deserve it? I don't know. Just a thought.

very possible, and if the allegations made in this article are true, some people need to be fired. Butch included. I'd rather have an irrelevant football program than a successful, yet dirty program.

How old is your daughter now?  Ava, right?  14 -15??  Scary times coming for you my friend.  Scary times....

That is just it, they are JUST allegations. 

And we can hope they are unfounded. But if they aren't, people have to be held accountable.

Oh Lordy, slow down.  She's eleven.  :-)  We're not at the point when the problem is boys, it's the other GIRLS that are the a-holes at this age.  God they're evil.

But of course, Ava is a perfect angel straight from Heaven above.   :angel: :angel: :angel:

agreed OJ, but you know how I am, just sayin

My daughter turned 15 yesterday...  She already knows I'll make her dates life hell... In a way, it drives her nuts.  In another.... I think she knows I have her back.

It's really cool the conversations I have with her.  "You know honey... you WILL be at a party and some guy is going to offer you a drink.... Understand now that what is in that drink may be something that knocks you out.... "

It may or may not happen, but at least I have made her think about it.  

Oh, and she is a dead shot too...  :thumbup:

Oy... I'm not ready for that stuff.  Fortunately right now our biggest issues are making swim team practice on time and when to turn off the Minecraft.   :dielaughing: :dance: :laugh:

I think it's important for young girls to understand that most guys aren't out to take advantage of them but some guys ARE . . . and it's impossible to tell the difference. Act accordingly.

I simply want to see the truth come out and if it costs folks their jobs, then so be it.  They are supposed to be the level headed adults in the room.  When they start turning their backs and making excuses and letting things "go" it can lead to nothing positive.  Find who is responsible and get rid of them.  That was the "enema" I was referring to in another post. 

Having had a daughter attend a major university (UTC) this kind of thing obviously affects the way I look at where our society is.  Mrs. HTV and I did everything we knew to do to "raiser her right" and for the most part she made good decisions, but as has been posted already, even making good decisions isn't always enough.  There are evil people in the world who have bad intentions.  Again, not saying that is or isn't the case here, but it happens. 

And now that yesterday I found out that I am going to have a granddaughter due to come in to the world in late June this type of issue is completely renewed in my mind. Our society has got to look at what is being allowed to be covered up eliminate the potential for cover ups to continue to happen.

And again I emphasize, I simply want the truth to come out and those - if any - responsible for allowing it to happen and for any cover up that may have been allowed - to be responsible.  And I don't care who those persons are - they need to be held responsible. 

(http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y103/tgr_tooslow/Birthday/congratulations.png)

While I'd say there are a few folks in the administration whose buttholes are clinching right now, I'm not too worried about it from the standpoint of the football program just yet. All appearances are that Butch Jones has tried to handle these matters the right way. But like Herb, I want to see anyone and everyone responsible for handling these matters wrongly -- if they were in fact handled wrongly -- lose their jobs. If that includes Butch, so be it. Sexual assault on campuses is a major problem across America, but it's an even bigger problem at major football schools because way too much is being done to protect the perpetrators in the name of winning (either directly on the field or by avoiding a black eye in the court of public perception). It's time to do something about it. No better place for that to start than the University of Tennessee.

Actually in most schools it is just the opposite.  All men are guilty and cannot be proven innocent.  There are ZERO (0) rights for accused on most college campuses today.
Example?  Glad you asked - se Virginia

And our administration doesn't help themselves by allowing pics like this to be taken - and it was taken after AJ had been indicted. 

https://twitter.com/TheVOLColonel/status/697454562366656513 (https://twitter.com/TheVOLColonel/status/697454562366656513)

Me: "Honey, all men are pigs"
Daughter: "What about you daddy?"
Me: "Honey, Daddy is a pig too"

You are correct, my friend - the UVA and Duke Lacrosse cases are prime examples.  

That's why I said that I want to see the truth come out, and I don't care who that truth exposes - they need to be held accountable - and that includes the accusers if they are not telling the truth.  

I don't disagree. But there are lots of examples that it's working the other way, too.

I don't think I'd call this "opposite." This is all part of the same problem.

I need to correct an earlier post:

The twitter pic I linked with Johnson and Cheek was taken before Johnson was indicted, but after he had been arrested and suspended from the football team. 

This story is beginning to make it onto network news. Right now its on the front page of foxnews.com. Here's a direct link to the report. http://video.foxnews.com/v/4748951616001/lawsuit-alleges-culture-of-student-athlete-sex-assault-at-ut/?#sp=show-clips (http://video.foxnews.com/v/4748951616001/lawsuit-alleges-culture-of-student-athlete-sex-assault-at-ut/?#sp=show-clips)

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:14753944 (http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:14753944)

Clay Travis (of all people) actually has very good take on this today.

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/outkick-the-coverage/title-ix-is-a-total-mess-021116

That makes perfect sense

Oooooh.  That really helped.  Thanks for posting that.  That was a fantastic read!!!

If he was assaulted he likely just wants it to go away at this point

Have to agree with leaving it to police

Interesting that he exonerates the SEC teams... :naughty: