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All clear

4 suspended Vols' players can suit up Saturday

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Posted: Friday October 01, 1999 01:39 PM

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Four Tennessee players suspended as part of the school's academic fraud investigation have been cleared to play in Saturday's game against Auburn, UT President J. Wade Gilley said Friday.

Gilley, in Nashville to talk to legislators, said the investigation "found nothing" indicating any wrongdoing by the players, so the Southeastern Conference will allow them to play.

"The investigation cleared all the players. There's no cloud over the players," Gilley said.

In addition to the four redshirt freshmen, starting center Spencer Riley was cleared of any wrongdoing, Gilley said. Riley had not been suspended.

Tennessee athletic director Doug Dickey took the school's preliminary findings from its investigation to SEC Commissioner Roy Karmer in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday. The SEC issued its decision about the players late Thursday, Gilley said, though no statement from the league was released.

Kramer did not immediately return a phone call.

Tennessee is investigating allegations that athletic department tutors did schoolwork for athletes, a possible violation of school honor codes and NCAA rules.

ESPN reported earlier this week that internal memos show high-level administrators in Tennessee's athletic department were told four tutors might have done schoolwork for at least five unidentified football players, a baseball player and a female athlete. Three of the football players have transferred.

Apparently, none of the information was passed on to campus authorities charged with investigating possible rules infractions, university officials say.

The four redshirt freshmen, including kick returner and NCAA champion sprinter Leonard Scott, were held out of the seventh-ranked Volunteers' game last Saturday against Memphis. The three other players are Reggie Ridley, Keyon Whiteside and Ryan Rowe.

On Thursday, Gilley said he had not read the preliminary report, but said there are "basically two issues."

"One is with the individual players. Did they break the rules?" Gilley said. "And the other is with institutional control. An institution can't depend on the head of the tutoring department" to watch the program.

 

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