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Father accuses Vols of violations
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The father of a former Tennessee player suspended from the university after he stole a teammate's ATM card and withdrew $2,400 has accused Tennessee of several NCAA violations. Richard "Juicy" Locke, father of receiver Eric Locke, told newspaper reporters that he sent a letter to the NCAA on Monday accusing coach Phillip Fulmer of having an improper meeting with him about his son's transfer from Alabama. Eric Locke transferred to Tennessee in 1999 after one season at Alabama. Richard Locke also said he was offered cash payments by Tennessee boosters and that a former assistant football coach and a member of the spring athletics board was involved. Locke didn't immediately return calls to the Associated Press. Locke claims his son -- a standout at Murfreesboro Riverdale High School -- was mistreated by being suspended. "It's personal now, and they've made it personal," Locke told The Tennessean. 'Eric was wrong, and I was the first one to say that. But you're not going to treat him unfairly, and that's what they've done. Now they're going to feel my wrath." Locke contends Fulmer asked him into his office in 1999 to discuss his son's transfer, which would be a violation because Alabama never released Eric from his scholarship to any Southeastern Conference school. Fulmer said Tuesday that Locke came into his office and started talking. "I tried to explain to him that he had to get the proper release from Alabama before we could go any further," Fulmer told the Tennessean. Fulmer denied any wrongdoing in Locke's recruitment. "Anything done with Eric Locke or anybody else was done the right way. The rest of it isn't even worth discussing," he said.
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