(AP) — Tennessee football coach Butch Jones' phone records show he had two conversations with former Volunteers receiver Drae Bowles the same day a lawsuit states that Bowles assisted a woman who said she was raped by two other players.
Phone records also show that Jones had multiple conversations with Johnson, Knoxville police chief David Rausch, Tennessee linebacker Curt Maggitt and athletic director Dave Hart from the morning of Nov. 16, 2014, to the afternoon of Nov. 17, 2014, when the school announced that Johnson and Williams were suspended from all team-related activities.
"Anytime we have a disciplinary issue with a player, we have as many conversations as needed with players, parents, law enforcement, whomever until we can be sure that we are making the best decision possible," Jones said in a statement.
"When we investigate an alleged crime involving an athlete at UT, as a professional courtesy, our long-standing practice has been that we alert the head coach and staff," Rausch said in a statement.
The lawsuit filed in Nashville by eight unidentified women states Tennessee has violated Title IX regulations and created a "hostile sexual environment" through a policy of indifference toward assaults by athletes.
According to an amended complaint filed last month, Bowles suffered a bloody lip when Maggitt punched him in the mouth on Nov. 16, 2014, and Bowles was confronted by teammates Geraldo Orta and Marlin Lane the following day.
