Tennessee pays 'communications professional' for aid in Title IX lawsuit

In this Tuesday, July 26, 2016, photo, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam speaks at a grant announcement in Camden, Tenn. Haslam said he has been happy to lend his support to state lawmakers facing tough primary challenges while making grant announcements around the state.
In this Tuesday, July 26, 2016, photo, Republican Gov. Bill Haslam speaks at a grant announcement in Camden, Tenn. Haslam said he has been happy to lend his support to state lawmakers facing tough primary challenges while making grant announcements around the state.

KNOXVILLE - Tennessee is paying a former adviser to Gov. Bill Haslam to assist in "communications strategies" with lawyers representing the school in a Title IX lawsuit that has since been settled.

According to a letter obtained through a public records request, Tennessee agreed to hire a "communications professional" who would work from March 2016 through February 2017 and "the maximum liability of the University shall be $240,000." The information was included in a May 2 letter that Tennessee interim treasurer and chief financial officer James Maples sent to Bill Ramsey, the lawyer representing the school in the lawsuit.

Although the letter didn't identify the communications professional, Tom Ingram of Ingram Group confirmed he was the one hired to assist Bill Ramsey, whose firm was representing the school in the lawsuit. Ingram is a former chief of staff to U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander and ran campaigns for Haslam, Alexander and U.S. Sen. Bob Corker.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel first reported the agreement.

Tennessee reached a $2.48 million settlement in July with eight unidentified women who said the school had violated Title IX regulations and fostered a "hostile sexual environment" through a policy of indifference toward assault complaints against athletes.

Although the suit has been settled, Ingram said Tuesday he is continuing to assist Ramsey and the school because "there's still a lot of follow-up" to be done, including media inquiries and appointment of an independent commission to recommend changes in the school's policies and programs related to preventing, investigating and resolving incidents of sexual misconduct.

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