KNOXVILLE - Tennessee football coach Butch Jones again defended the off-field behavior of his players in an interview with CNN on Sunday.
The culture Jones has created in three-plus years as the coach of the Volunteers has come under scrutiny in the wake of a federal lawsuit filed earlier this month that targets the university's handling of sexual assault and rape allegations involving football players and the arrest of defensive tackle Alexis Johnson last week on charges of aggravated assault.
Jones spoke to CNN less than 24 hours after a brief meeting with local media Saturday night before Tennessee's basketball game against LSU, during halftime of which the football team was recognized for its Outback Bowl win.
"These isolated incidences are not an indication of what we have, the type of character that we have in our football program, and the culture that we have in our football program," Jones told CNN. "We have good people here. We support each other. The culture that exists here and what's being portrayed are two totally different things."
On Saturday night Jones said his program has been "proactive" in trying to prevent players from running into trouble off the field, and he reiterated that approach in the interview with CNN.
"Like a parent, you're trying to educate them on great decisions," he said. "We call it the 'one-second rule': In one second your life can change by one decision, and that's life. We talk about that every single day, about respect. Can you do better? Absolutely, you're always looking to do better."
The lawsuit, filed two weeks ago by six women, claims the university "created a hostile sexual environment" and acted with "deliberate indifference and a clearly unreasonable response" after alleged incidents.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the Tennessee Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, which the plaintiffs allege is one-sided and favors the accused. The procedure allows the accused to have legal representation during hearings before university-appointed administrative judges. The lawsuit also references a "lack of promptness" in handling accusations.
The hostile environment, the lawsuit claims, "was condoned and completely unaddressed" by university officials, including chancellor Jimmy Cheek, athletic director Dave Hart and Jones.
In an attempt to illustrate that environment, the lawsuit cites incidents involving Tennessee football players dating back to 1995, when Nilo Sylvan was arrested on rape charges but later was exonerated.
More recently the examples in the lawsuit, beyond the alleged incidents involving the six "Jane Doe" plaintiffs, included every run-in with trouble for a Tennessee football player, ranging from Treyvon Paulk allegedly punching his girlfriend to Jalen Hurd's underage citation drinking.
The lawsuit makes no mention of Von Pearson, however. The wide receiver was suspended for nearly four months in 2015 after he was accused of rape in late April. In addition to a suspension from Jones, Pearson faced a university suspension that prohibited him from enrolling in summer classes. There was no such university discipline for A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams when they were accused five months earlier.
Johnson finished his degree and graduated that December, while Williams remained enrolled in classes in the spring even after he was indicted and awaiting trial on rape charges.
Once cleared legally, Pearson had to be allowed to re-enroll in classes to resume his football career.
Of the six players accused of rape or sexual assault prior to the lawsuit, only Johnson and Williams were charged. The incidents still hurt Tennessee's image, however.
"As the leader, yes, it hurts," Jones told CNN. "You get angry. I feel for the alleged victims, but also I feel for our players as well because of all that's involved."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.