KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee has suspended senior basketball player Ruby Whitehorn indefinitely after her recent arrest on felony charges of domestic assault and aggravated burglary.
Last week, Whitehorn’s attorney, Gregory P. Isaacs, said Whitehorn will plead not guilty at her preliminary hearing on Sept. 5.
“She is suspended indefinitely and is not participating in team activities,” an athletic department spokesman wrote in an email to The Associated Press on Thursday.
Whitehorn, a 6-foot guard from Detroit who transferred to Tennessee last year after two seasons at Clemson, was arrested Aug. 8 after the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call around 4:15 p.m. According to reports, police said Whitehorn got into an altercation outside a woman’s residence and kicked in a front door and bedroom door. Whitehorn reportedly told officers she was getting her property back after the woman took her phone and passport and then locked the door.
“Our firm’s investigation has also revealed that the factual allegations contained in the warrants are not accurate and are contradicted by eyewitness accounts,” Isaacs said in last week’s statement. “Ruby Whitehorn looks forward to having this matter resolved in the very near future.”
Whitehorn started 28 of 34 games last season and ranked fourth in scoring on the team with 11.6 points per game while helping the Lady Volunteers go 24-10 in coach Kim Caldwell’s debut campaign at Tennessee, which ended with an appearance in the NCAA tournament’s Sweet 16. Whitehorn started 62 of 66 games during her two seasons at Clemson.