Interesting bar brawl and impermissible benefits

[tornado]

Although this is more football related...surely by now just about everyone equates Tennessee whether it's football or basketball, with the term "bar brawl"...

Anyway...read the coverage of this bar brawl in Tennesse involving plenty of their football players and note..

"Basically, it was a normal Thursday night - Thursday's ...
"We had all the UT football players come in. ..they get VIP status, which
means they pay no cover at the door. ...several of the guys started beating
up the other customer. I want to guess there was seven to 10 guys beating
up this one gentleman."

"Knoxville police officer Robert Capouellez was found unconscious on the street
outside the bar after the fight around 2 a.m. ..was being treated for a head injury."

"said her establishment has had some “small” problems with UT football players in the past.
.....they’ll try to cross the line as much as they can,” she said. “They’ll try to come in without ID
..we’ve had to throw a couple of them out for underage drinking. An overage friend will buy them a drink."


...so all the Volunteer football players just automatically get VIP status and freebies on the cover charge...probably free booze as well.....

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/jul/09/vols-football-players-brawl-bar/

[tornado]

Now we have an interview with the bar owner (video on this link)
..and sure enough she states plainly that it was the football players who started a big fight and beat up an off duty cop...

The bar owner says the players/athletes all get special "VIP privileges" and thus pay no cover like everyone else does..and she goes on to say the basketball players come in as well....but they don't beat up cops..

http://www.wbir.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=111159742001&odyssey=mod_newestvid#/Bar+Knoxville+owner+speaks+about+fight/111159742001

http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2010/07/09/darick-rogers-arrested-in-melee-involving-police-several-tennessee-players/

The players arrested at the bar were

Darren Myles, Jr., soph, 19 years old
Da'Rick Rogers, freshman, 19 years old

http://deadspin.com/5583404/da-rick-rogers-prized-vol-recruit-lover-of-ladies-who-bite-arrested-for-brawling

In fact, of the seven Tennessee students identified by name, five of the 7 are underage....

http://www.govolsxtra.com/news/2010/jul/09/vols-football-players-brawl-bar/

"Both were released on bail early Friday afternoon and were rushed away in a black sedan with an orange Tennessee ???T??? on the side."

[Future Walk-On]

loss of 2 recruiting days?

1 quarter suspension?

[tornado]

Here are some interesting updates on the Tennessee bar brawl story...

--first - of the two players arrested, Darren Myles has been dismissed, but Da'Rick Rogers has not. What's interesting about that is that Rogers just happens to be the highest rated football recruit Tennessee has had in decades!!
He is a 5-Star rated player ranked #4 nationally
Surely Tennessee is going to find a way to keep him!

http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=3946463

BTW -- two other players that weren't arrested were suspended, but no discipline for Da'Rick

--Rogers, who is just 19, takes some chances by posting pics of himself drinking booze on his facebook!

http://deadspin.com/5583404/da-rick-rogers-prized-vol-recruit-lover-of-ladies-who-bite-arrested-for-brawling

--Tennessee football has had a whole string of arrests including two for armed robbery

--the NCAA might want to check on those freebies being given to the athletes..
"That treatment almost certainly would be considered an extra benefit -- and therefore an NCAA violation."

http://blogs.ajc.com/recruiting/2010/07/09/darick-rogers-arrested-in-melee-involving-police-several-tennessee-players/?cxntfid=blogs_recruiting

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2010/jul/11/hamilton-says-ut-investigation-goes-on/?sports

Both of the arrested players were from Georgia, leading to some in Georgia to gloat a little about them getting arrested at rival Tennessee...
until this morning...when a couple Georgia players got arrested.
Georgia's Athletic Director was just arrested and booted for DUI and other things..

http://www.ajc.com/sports/uga/uga-football-players-arrested-568091.html