By Caleb Calhoun
It’s not like there’s ever a good time for a college football program to deal with assault charges against one of their players. However, there are worse times than others. Unfortunately for Tennessee football, the Vols find themselves in one of those times.
Linebacker William Mohan has been suspended indefinitely after being arrested Sunday for domestic aggravated assault, initially reported by Carissa Simpson of WVLT. The arrest stems from an incident that took place Saturday.
According to the report, the victim told police she invited Mohan over. She said he arrived drunk and, after taking him to her room, reportedly began to initiate sex with her. When she said no, a conflict reportedly ensued, with the altercation eventually getting physical and what could be considered violent.
Given the Vols’ recent history, there’s no way they can keep Mohan around if these allegations turn out to be true. This is an athletic program that is less than a decade removed from a major sexual assault lawsuit, it has a major booster involved in another PR issue related to such topics, and it’s dealing with the NCAA right now regarding a current player who has had his own issues related to the topic.
Remember, just over six years ago, the Vols had to settle a sexual assault lawsuit worth nearly $2.5 million. That lawsuit, according to reports, had brought up numerous incidents within the school dating back to the 1990s. It’s what brought to light the Peyton Manning trainer incident and also occurred while two former Vols were facing rape charges. To be fair, both players were acquitted, and one is in the NFL now.
Still, the lawsuit was definitely a stain on the program. You don’t have to believe everything in there to say that a school that dealt with such a problem probably can’t afford to have a player on the team guilty of what Mohan is accused of doing.
However, you don’t even need history to see that this is a problem. Look at right now. One of the Vols’ most notable boosters in the past has been Jimmy Haslam, current owner of the Cleveland Browns. The business school is named after the Haslam family.
We know what Cleveland is dealing with right now. They took a risk and signed Deshaun Watson to a huge contract despite after over two dozen massage therapists having accused him of assaulting or harassing them. Although he hasn’t been charged with any crime, Watson is suspended for 11 games this year, as the league and an independent arbiter both found him to be guilty of sexual misconduct.
Mentioning Alvin Kamara here might be worth it too. The former Vol and current New Orleans Saints running back has been accused this offseason of assaulting a man in Las Vegas.
Forget boosters, former Vols or history, though. What about the Vols’ current situation? The Mohan story comes out just as UT is trying to get the NCAA to grant an eligibility waiver for USC transfer Bru McCoy, who didn’t play last year after a felony domestic violence arrest in the summer of 2021. No charges came from that, but it’s still a bad look for the Vols to be fighting to let him play for them while these charges against Mohan come to light.
Obviously, you have to wait until the facts of any such case come out. It’s safe to assume we’ll learn more during Mohan’s preliminary hearing on Friday, Sept. 16. However, this is a bad situation for Josh Heupel’s program to be in. If these reports turn out to be true, the Vols can’t keep Mohan around.
Second-chances are generally the right approach in college athletics, as it makes sense to rehabilitate a player rather than condemn them for life. Given the Vols’ recent history and the nature of these charges, though, an exception may have to occur here.
