Former Tennessee players accused of assaulting former wide receiver Drae Bowles
A federal lawsuit by six unnamed UT students claims that Tennessee football players twice assaulted former Tennessee wide receiver Drae Bowles.
Neyland Stadium, University of Tennessee - Knoxville. //Photo by Ryan McGill
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A federal lawsuit by six unnamed UT students claims that Tennessee football players twice assaulted former Tennessee wide receiver Drae Bowles, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.
The lawsuit states that the university and its staff, including Chancellor Jimmy Cheek, athletic director Dave Hart and Tennessee head coach Butch Jones, violated Title IX laws and others by taking “deliberately indifferent” actions in regards to several separate cases of alleged rapes involving former Tennessee players.
Bowles assisted the woman who accused former Tennessee players A.J. Johnson and Michael Williams of rape by taking her to the hospital following the incident.
He also supported her decision to report the incident to the authorities.
The lawsuit claims that the day after the matter occurred, one of the victims witnessed several football players “jumping” Bowles with football coaches on hand, and a second confrontation between him and several players is said to have taken place in the team facility.
Former Tennessee player Geraldo Orta told Knoxville police, “Bowles had betrayed the team and that where he (Orta) came from, people got shot for doing what Bowles did.”
Bowles gave a testimony that led to the indictment of Johnson and Williams, but he has yet to comment on the filing of the lawsuit.
The Tennessee Journalist will continue to update this story as more information becomes available.
Featured image by Ryan McGill
Edited by Cody McClure
Sports editor Jake Nichols has been part of the TNJN staff in two different capacities. His freshman and sophomore years, Jake worked as a staff writer before moving on to write for Rocky Top Insider, and he also worked with VFL Films and the SEC Network for a semester his junior year. When asked the summer before his senior year to return to TNJN as the sports editor, Jake jumped at the chance to end his time in Knoxville working with the organization he first began with as a freshman. Jake is excited to help lead younger writers, much like former editors Cody McClure and Jordan Dajani aided him. Jake also does freelance sports coverage and photography for The Mountain Press in Sevierville, Tenn., and in his spare time, he can be found with family, his girlfriend or driving his Jeep, most likely with his Canon in tow. Be sure and follow Jake on Twitter and Instagram at @jnichols_2121, and keep up with TNJN Sports on Twitter as well!
