UT Coach Derek Dooley Faces Tough Test In Dealing With Brawl Incident

In the aftermath of the assault at Bar Knoxville, at least one player has been dismissed from the team—Darren Myles—and two others are suspended indefinitely.

Da'Rick Rogers has escaped any real punishment, for now, but the reputation of the University of Tennessee football program continues to be tarnished by his, and others, bad behavior.

As the new fearless leader of the Vols' football program, head coach Derek Dooley has already laid down his version of the law in stating that he won't continue to allow this kind of behavior to proliferate his program,

"It is a privilege, not a right, to be a member of the University of Tennessee football team," Dooley said in a statement. "The most important responsibility of that privilege is to properly represent this institution and our supporters on and off the field.

"I am disappointed and in many ways embarrassed by the poor judgment displayed on many fronts by several members of our football team last night," Dooley said. (CNN Wire, 7/9/10).

Not for nothing, but, talk is cheap. So far, all Dooley has done is show defensive back Darren Myles the door—this was his second arrest this offseason. Myles could see more jail time if he is found guilty of taking part in the assault on officer Robert Capouellez.

Even more, his decision to flee his arresting officer, purposely hitting him in the process, left little doubt that he would need to be dismissed from the program—that was a given.

The actions of Denarious Moore and Matt Milton, both of whom are wide receivers, could result in a lengthy suspension as well. Moore was Tennessee's second leading receiver last season and is entering his senior year for the Vols.

Matt Milton is a 2010 signee who many feel will be a future star at Tennessee.  He was rated a 4-star prospect by Rivals last season.

However, the real question is, how will Dooley handle the punishment of Da'Rick Rogers?

If he manages to get off without so much as a slap on the wrist, then there will be conversations about where Dooley's disciplinary philosophy truly ends—he's not at Louisiana Tech anymore—these are big boy decisions that Dooley is expected to make without prejudice.

Good luck.

As of now, charges are still pending and it is unclear the level of involvement of each player charged thus far. What is known is that Bar Knoxville may become no-man's land for UT football players from this point on. The whole "VIP" thing just screams of a scandal and I don't suspect that Dooley wants any part of it given the sensitive spot he's already been placed.

Perhaps he needs to speak to Tennessee basketball coach Bruce Pearl. According to Sandra Morton, the basketball players have never given them any trouble and are just "good boys." As for those football players, they seem to have a little trouble with authority and following the proper dress code—a claim I believe considering how much Mr. Rogers loves to take his shirt off—just saying.

Interview with Bar Knoxville co-owner, Sandra Morton:



Footage of both Darren Myles and Da'Rick Rogers leaving the Knox County jail—that Rogers, boy, he sure is fast, ain't he? That might be the first time I've ever seen him try to AVOID the spotlight.

Oh, let me stop.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Tennessee dismisses one, suspends two after bar brawl (cbssports.com)

Tennessee WR Da'Rick Rogers Among Those Arrested At Knoxville Bar

Tennessee Vol receiver, Da'Rick Rogers, along with as many as six to 10 of his Volunteer teammates, were allegedly involved in the assault of an off-duty police officer at a local bar. Below is a recount of what happened as told by the bar's co-owner, Sandy Morton:

"Basically, it was a normal Thursday night — Thursday’s our big night," Morton said. "We had all the UT football players come in. They’re on a first-name basis with my husband (and co-owner), and they get VIP status, which means they pay no cover at the door. We’ve never had a problem with them in the past, but tonight, apparently they had a falling out with another gentleman. I don’t know why. I don’t know what happened, but 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.

"All the security then rushed in and were trying to break it up. My husband saw them picking up bar stools and starting to swing them. We got them out the door with security. There happened to be a friend of ours who was an off-duty police officer outside. He tried to help, and he ended up getting knocked out in the street and proceeded to be kicked while he was down on the ground in the middle of Cumberland.

"That’s basically the gist of it." (Chattanooga Times Free Press, 7/09/10)

Well, we appreciate your honesty, Sandy. The first question I have to know the answer to is this, why on earth are you giving VIP status to Tennessee players at your bar?

Furthermore, I'm not up on every single NCAA bylaw, but, I'm pretty sure that it's an NCAA violation to give gifts to a Division-I football player. Did you miss the part where she said the players are on a "first name basis" and "pay no cover at the door?"

Hellllooooooooo, that's a big no-no.

I will reserve full judgment on Mr. Rogers for now as it is possible that he was simply a bystander to all the action. However, it goes without saying that it was probably not the best idea to be within a handcuff of this fight.

From reading what Ms. Morton had to say about the overall attitude of the players they serve, this seemed like an inevitability,

"We have a strict dress code, and they’ll try to cross the line as much as they can," she said. "They’ll try to come in without ID, but we’re very strict on ID. We’re very strict on underage drinking. We’ve had small occasions where we’ve had to throw a couple of them out for underage drinking. An overage friend will buy them a drink.

"That’s the typical problems we’ve had, but we’ve never had a fight. This is our first, and it will be our last."

Hmmm, on second thought, maybe Ms. Morton shouldn't say too much about how her establishment caters to football players, "...they'll try to cross the line as much as they can?"...nooooooo, really? You don't think by granting them "VIP-status" that you in effect give them a sense of entitlement?

The assault that took place at Bar Knoxville was unfortunate. Jokes aside, Derek Dooley doesn't need this controversy hovering over his program to start the season. It's a headache and a public relations nightmare. I sincerely hope that the number of players speculated to have been involved is a lot less than has been reported thus far.

No additional names have been released as of yet but, it's safe to assume, they will be revealed as soon as the charges are filed.

In the meantime, Rogers has been charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest by the University of Tennessee Police Department.