Ruby Whitehorn dismissed from the team!

[KingBlue]

 

[volfan__18]

well this stinks. I think this will bring our ceiling down a lot. Gonna need the freshman’s to rlly step it up. Ruby was going to be a star this year.

 

[volforlife10]

hoping she can heal and grow in life. i’m really going to miss her. going to have to pull it all together quick team wise. a huge loss. just hope ruby finds some positives from this.

 

[LadyVol1908]

I know the team is deep this year, but what a blow!

 

[AntiochVol81]

I believe the team will be ok Nya will basically have to replace her production which I believe she can do..

 

[RespectAPA]

"my priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady Vols."

Hm. My hope would've been that the priority would've been to do what's best for all the people involved. Is this really it?

 

[vols 30]

Good Job Coach Kim. Ruby gave her no choice imo. Set the standard!

 

[vols 30]

"my priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady Vols."

Hm. My hope would've been that the priority would've been to do what's best for all the people involved. Is this really it?

Absolutely

 

[1reVOLver]

KC faced a tough decision: protect a single player or protect the team and the university.
No doubt the AD and Chancellor were consulted.

Wishing Ruby a healthy restart elsewhere.

“It is my responsibility to protect the high standards of this historic program," Caldwell said. "In light of recent events, Ruby has been unable to reflect those standards, and I have made the difficult decision to dismiss her from our team. I love Ruby and will always be rooting for her, but my priority is to uphold the respected reputation of the Lady Vols."

 

[VolBall09]

I’m sure Brenda Freese has already reached out to Ruby

 

[POLOinDC]

Next man up for some extra minutes. Jada Civil, come on down.

 

[Dadof2Vols]

Black people get pulled over for no reason all the time…obviously I wasn’t there and don’t know all of the facts, but to assume her car smelled like weed because they need a reason to search her is, well, laughable.

White people do too by Knoxville’s finest. Here is my earlier post. When it comes to Knoxville PD, If you are out after midnight you are fair game…

Look, I got a white Boy son that was stopped by Knoxville’s finest at 2 am in the morning after dancing and HAD not been drinking. He was headed to cookout on strip and officer said when light turned green he did not go quick enough and he thought he had fell asleep. My son said he had went as soon as the light changed and he verified nothing in intersection.

Point, it don’t take much for a cop to stop any kid regardless of color/sex in KnoxVegas after midnight.

 

[VolBall09]

Next man up for some extra minutes. Jada Civil, come on down.

Yeah we have players to fill the play void. Unfortunate we lost someone who should have been a leader for this team. She seemed like a team favorite as well so this is going to take a minute to bounce back from mentally.

Won’t be surprised if we don’t play very well Tuesday. This has all been a massive distraction.

 

[TheMookieMonster]

well this stinks. I think this will bring our ceiling down a lot. Gonna need the freshman’s to rlly step it up. Ruby was going to be a star this year.

Whether or not she was going to be a star, this was probably the right move. Kim is in the early stages of building her program and establishing her culture and no one player can be bigger than the program just because they are a great athlete.

 

[ron1989]

The is is a huge blow idc how deep we are you just don’t replace those numbers no other way to put this…at the end of the day ruby put Kim in a horrible situation hopefully the girls can shake this off and play well tuesday

 

[VolBall09]

The is is a huge blow idc how deep we are you just don’t replace those numbers no other way to put this…at the end of the day ruby put Kim in a horrible situation hopefully the girls can shake this off and play well tuesday

Eh production wise she is actually pretty replaceable this season. She leaves a leadership void, but Civil, Prawl and Robertson are all as good or better.

I was looking for Ruby to have a breakout season because she was honestly pretty one dimensional as the season progressed last year. She played her best basketball in Nov/Dec last season.

 

[vols90]

Eh production wise she is actually pretty replaceable this season. She leaves a leadership void, but Civil, Prawl and Robertson are all as good or better.

I was looking for Ruby to have a breakout season because she was honestly pretty one dimensional as the season progressed last year. She played her best basketball in Nov/Dec last season.

I agree. Hate this for everyone involved and I do think she would’ve been a great leader this year, but she disappeared in a lot of our big SEC games last year.

 

[Rickster]

I know she is no longer on the team but will she be supported in other ways or is she and her support completely gone?

 

[Volfan2012]

Definitely moves Prawl and Civil into larger roles and certainly Latham who has a similar game.

 

[madtownvol]

I feel bad for Ruby and the team who has lost a valued and beloved player. As a fan, its a bummer for being a blow to the team's depth and quality. [Yes, the LVs have players that can step up but when you remove a high quality player from a line-up, that substraction does not make a team a better. That is one less really good option the staff can deploy.]

But, we should applaud Coach Caldwell for making the tough call. The easy call would have been a suspension of "X" number of games and then let Ruby back on. Several posters provided rationales (and what they were presumably hearing from "sources") to make that flexible option seem like a reasonable path.

But, it is not about the degree to which a player violates a disciplinary principle but whether a principle has any "teeth" to it or is it all just talk. And CKC's credibility was on the line as well because she stated that, in effect Ruby was on thin ice and had to really prove herself to get reinstated the first time.

If you walk back on your disciplinary principles for a star player (and your own public statements about their status), you can lose control of a team pretty fast (recall those last few seasons under Holly Warlick).

So, it is a sad day in LV land but also a day where CKC has again shown she has the "right stuff."

 

[VolBall09]

I know she is no longer on the team but will she be supported in other ways or is she and her support completely gone?

I’m sure they’re not going to just throw her to the wolves but her time around the team for anything official is over if she’s been dismissed.

 

[Volfan2012]

I know she is no longer on the team but will she be supported in other ways or is she and her support completely gone?

Were never going to know, Sure that Ruby and her family will be looking for another school even if they have to sit out the rest of this season.

 

[madtownvol]

Yeah we have players to fill the play void. Unfortunate we lost someone who should have been a leader for this team. She seemed like a team favorite as well so this is going to take a minute to bounce back from mentally.

Won’t be surprised if we don’t play very well Tuesday. This has all been a massive distraction.

A possibility but I am betting on CKC and I am betting the team is locked in.

 

[Volfan2012]

I feel bad for Ruby and the team who has lost a valued and beloved player. As a fan, its a bummer for being a blow to the team's depth and quality. [Yes, the LVs have players that can step up but when you remove a high quality player from a line-up, that substraction does not make a team a better. That is one less really good option the staff can deploy.]

But, we should applaud Coach Caldwell for making the tough call. The easy call would have been a suspension of X games and then let Ruby back on and several posters provided rationales (and what they were presumably hearing from "sources") to make that seem like a reasonable path.

But, it is not about how much a player violate a disciplinary principle but whether a principle has any "teeth" to it or is all just talk. And CKC's credibility was on the line as well when she stated that, in effect Ruby was on thin ice and had to prove to get reinstated the first time.

You walk back on your disciplinary principles for a star player (and your own public statements about their status) and you can lose control of a team pretty fast (recall that last few seasons under Holly Warlick).

So, it is a sad day but also a day where CKC has again shown she has the right stuff.

Totally understand letting her go she is a problem that you don't know what may come next so you cut it out right now. I was more in for the suspension and one more chance, but I understand this totally and we now have an understanding of Coach Kim Caldwell. She will give you one chance and you better take it.

 

[Rickster]

I’m sure they’re not going to just throw her to the wolves but her time around the team for anything official is over if she’s been dismissed.

It's clear she won't be on the team. I would like to see the University help her instead of making her leave immediately. I believe that would be a better story than one of abandonment.