dduncan4163
Have at it Hoss
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SEC Extra Points: What to Make of the Current SEC Championship Odds | Bleacher Report
It's Settled
Tennessee settled the sexual assault lawsuit brought forth by eight women for $2.48 million, according to Nate Rau and Anita Wadhwani of the Tennessean. According to the report, that figure includes legal fees.
As a result of the settlement, head football coach Butch Jones, athletics director Dave Hart and other administrators will not be deposed or face questioning for various aspects of the case. While the settlement doesn't put to rest the Title IX aspect of the case, it does put one huge aspect of the scandal in the rearview mirror and eliminates a few of the possible distractions that could have popped up this year for the Vols.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Tennessee head coach Butch Jones
For Jones, that's important, because from a pure football perspective, he'd be the primary person associated with the football program who conceivably could be distracted during the ongoing case.
The question I have for Tennessee is why did it come to this?
In the grand scheme of things, $2.48 million isn't that much money for a $126.6 million athletic department when you subtract legal fees and divide it among eight people. The plaintiffs also released a statement acknowledging that the university "has made significant progress in the way they educate and respond to sexual assault cases." If that's what it took to settle the case, why did Tennessee take so long to provide those concessions and let this drag on essentially all offseason?
Tennessee has rightfully been cast in an extremely negative light by the case during a year in which sexual assault allegationsparticularly the Baylor case which resulted in the dismissal of head coach Art Brileshave been at the forefront of the national conversation.
The program could have saved itself a lot of national embarrassment by taking action a long time ago.
It's Settled
Tennessee settled the sexual assault lawsuit brought forth by eight women for $2.48 million, according to Nate Rau and Anita Wadhwani of the Tennessean. According to the report, that figure includes legal fees.
As a result of the settlement, head football coach Butch Jones, athletics director Dave Hart and other administrators will not be deposed or face questioning for various aspects of the case. While the settlement doesn't put to rest the Title IX aspect of the case, it does put one huge aspect of the scandal in the rearview mirror and eliminates a few of the possible distractions that could have popped up this year for the Vols.

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones
For Jones, that's important, because from a pure football perspective, he'd be the primary person associated with the football program who conceivably could be distracted during the ongoing case.
The question I have for Tennessee is why did it come to this?
In the grand scheme of things, $2.48 million isn't that much money for a $126.6 million athletic department when you subtract legal fees and divide it among eight people. The plaintiffs also released a statement acknowledging that the university "has made significant progress in the way they educate and respond to sexual assault cases." If that's what it took to settle the case, why did Tennessee take so long to provide those concessions and let this drag on essentially all offseason?
Tennessee has rightfully been cast in an extremely negative light by the case during a year in which sexual assault allegationsparticularly the Baylor case which resulted in the dismissal of head coach Art Brileshave been at the forefront of the national conversation.
The program could have saved itself a lot of national embarrassment by taking action a long time ago.