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UT teammates want Banks back
James Banks
By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE James Banks' Tennessee teammates want him back.
''I don't know everything that's going into it, but I would definitely like to see him here. That's the bottom line,'' said senior linebacker Kevin Burnett, a second-year captain.
''I've heard people say that he's been a distraction, but I can tell you that we've had much bigger distractions than him. I really don't want to say much else because it's a team matter, but I love James Banks as a player.''
Banks' fate rests with Coach Phillip Fulmer, who planned to meet with Banks last night before making a final decision.
There were strong indications that Banks' punishment would be a suspension of some kind that would force him to miss a game or games this season, but not total dismissal from the team.
Banks was already on indefinite suspension following a verbal altercation last spring with a female at the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center.
His latest trouble came last Friday at 2 a.m. on the Cumberland Avenue strip when he was issued citations by the Knoxville City Police Department for underage alcohol consumption and violating the city's noise ordinance.
Fulmer was out of town last weekend with his family when the incident occurred and was in Colorado the last two days along with UT Athletics Director Mike Hamilton on a fund-raising trip.
''I want to visit with James before I do anything,'' Fulmer said. ''I want to talk with James and see where he is on some things.''
Banks' father, also named James Banks, said he spoke with Fulmer by phone yesterday and remained hopeful that his son would not be kicked off the team.
The elder Banks said he suggested to Fulmer that his son sit out this season and take a redshirt year.
''But I've left it in Coach Fulmer's hands and will go with whatever he decides,'' Banks' father said. ''My son is not a bad kid. He's just doing bad things and making bad choices. What I don't like about it is the repetitive nature of those bad choices. That's what hurts the most as his father.''
Banks' father, a firefighter in Indianapolis, said he will likely travel be in Knoxville in the next few days. He said he talked to his son last night for the first time since the incident last Friday, but that conversation came prior to the wide receivers meeting with Fulmer.
As of last night, he said he had still yet to talk to his son since this latest incident.
Banks attended workouts yesterday at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center, but did not participate. He sat in a chair on the side and watched.
Junior tailback Gerald Riggs Jr., who's had his own problems adjusting at Tennessee, said nobody on the team wanted to see Banks gone.
''It's not that James is a bad person,'' Riggs said. ''It's just that he's got to realize that there's some decisions you can't make. James is a good person, a strong person. I'm totally behind James, and I definitely don't want to see anything happen to James where he's not a part of this team anymore. Everybody on the team feels the same.
''We're a better football team with James. He's going to be fine. There's just some things he's got to get through and some things he's going to have to learn, but we believe in James.''
Banks' father acknowledged that Hamilton would have a large say in the final decision about his son's punishment. The wide receiver has already called Hamilton personally to apologize for his latest actions.
''We're hoping for the best,'' Banks' father said. ''But it's like I told James a while back, 'The University of Tennessee will continue whether you're there or not. They're going to march on with or without you.'
''I hope that's not a lesson he has to learn the hard way.''
James Banks
By CHRIS LOW
Staff Writer
KNOXVILLE James Banks' Tennessee teammates want him back.
''I don't know everything that's going into it, but I would definitely like to see him here. That's the bottom line,'' said senior linebacker Kevin Burnett, a second-year captain.
''I've heard people say that he's been a distraction, but I can tell you that we've had much bigger distractions than him. I really don't want to say much else because it's a team matter, but I love James Banks as a player.''
Banks' fate rests with Coach Phillip Fulmer, who planned to meet with Banks last night before making a final decision.
There were strong indications that Banks' punishment would be a suspension of some kind that would force him to miss a game or games this season, but not total dismissal from the team.
Banks was already on indefinite suspension following a verbal altercation last spring with a female at the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center.
His latest trouble came last Friday at 2 a.m. on the Cumberland Avenue strip when he was issued citations by the Knoxville City Police Department for underage alcohol consumption and violating the city's noise ordinance.
Fulmer was out of town last weekend with his family when the incident occurred and was in Colorado the last two days along with UT Athletics Director Mike Hamilton on a fund-raising trip.
''I want to visit with James before I do anything,'' Fulmer said. ''I want to talk with James and see where he is on some things.''
Banks' father, also named James Banks, said he spoke with Fulmer by phone yesterday and remained hopeful that his son would not be kicked off the team.
The elder Banks said he suggested to Fulmer that his son sit out this season and take a redshirt year.
''But I've left it in Coach Fulmer's hands and will go with whatever he decides,'' Banks' father said. ''My son is not a bad kid. He's just doing bad things and making bad choices. What I don't like about it is the repetitive nature of those bad choices. That's what hurts the most as his father.''
Banks' father, a firefighter in Indianapolis, said he will likely travel be in Knoxville in the next few days. He said he talked to his son last night for the first time since the incident last Friday, but that conversation came prior to the wide receivers meeting with Fulmer.
As of last night, he said he had still yet to talk to his son since this latest incident.
Banks attended workouts yesterday at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center, but did not participate. He sat in a chair on the side and watched.
Junior tailback Gerald Riggs Jr., who's had his own problems adjusting at Tennessee, said nobody on the team wanted to see Banks gone.
''It's not that James is a bad person,'' Riggs said. ''It's just that he's got to realize that there's some decisions you can't make. James is a good person, a strong person. I'm totally behind James, and I definitely don't want to see anything happen to James where he's not a part of this team anymore. Everybody on the team feels the same.
''We're a better football team with James. He's going to be fine. There's just some things he's got to get through and some things he's going to have to learn, but we believe in James.''
Banks' father acknowledged that Hamilton would have a large say in the final decision about his son's punishment. The wide receiver has already called Hamilton personally to apologize for his latest actions.
''We're hoping for the best,'' Banks' father said. ''But it's like I told James a while back, 'The University of Tennessee will continue whether you're there or not. They're going to march on with or without you.'
''I hope that's not a lesson he has to learn the hard way.''
