University of Tennessee cornerback Michael WilliamsKNOXVILLE — Two University of Tennessee football players, including star linebacker A.J. Johnson, were suspended Monday from all team-related activities amid an investigation into an alleged sexual assault that occurred in the early-morning hours Sunday.
Johnson, one of the team’s captains and the Volunteers’ leading tackler, and cornerback Michael Williams are suspects in the rape and sexual assault reported by two 19-year-old women at The Woodlands, an off-campus apartment complex, shortly before 3 a.m. Sunday.
No charges have been filed in the case, and one of the women already has elected not to press charges.
At his weekly news conference early Monday afternoon, Vols coach Butch Jones said he would gather all the necessary information regarding the situation. About four hours later the program announced on its official Twitter account that the two players had been suspended pending the conclusion of the investigation.
“Once we have all that appropriate information,” Jones said, “we will act in a very decisive manner, which we have proven over time to do here at the University of Tennessee.”