Why Jeremy Pruitt cited George Floyd and Alabama cash in Tennessee NCAA investigation
Former Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt fought NCAA allegations to the end and lost, but now his words from the case have surfaced.
Documents obtained by Knox News through open records requests reveal what Pruitt told investigators in the early days of the NCAA probe in January 2021 and his response to allegations in November 2022.
When asked whether he violated NCAA rules, Pruitt referenced George Floyd, COVID and mental health. He also said players’ moms accused him of things he didn’t do in order to protect their sons from sanctions.
Pruitt was given a six-year show-cause penalty Friday for his part in the recruiting scandal that included 18 highest-level violations and 200 individual infractions. Seven of his former UT assistant coaches and staff members also received multi-year show-cause orders.
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A show-cause penalty means a university cannot hire a coach or recruiter without being subjected to penalties during the length of the ban unless the NCAA signs off. Pruitt's show-cause is an effective ban. It includes a 100% suspension for the first year of employment should an NCAA school hire in him in any athletics position.
Pruitt declined a Knox News interview request when reached by phone after the NCAA decision Friday. But his words in the case file say quite a bit.
Here are notable items from Pruitt’s interview with investigators and his formal response to allegations, neither of which had been made public.
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George Floyd on Pruitt’s mind when he paid player’s mom
Pruitt said he thought about racial inequity and the high-profile killings of Black people when he gave a player’s mother $300 in a Chick-fil-A bag.
It was August 2020 during the COVID shutdown.
Pruitt said a player’s mother showed up in the parking lot outside the UT football complex in tears because of financial hardship. She told him she had nowhere else to turn for money to pay her bills.
Pruitt admitted giving her the cash from his car, where he typically stored it.
He told investigators that he felt sorry for her because of the financial strain caused by the COVID shutdown and that UT’s Student Assistance Fund, which is used for student-athletes with hardships, was tapped out.
And Pruitt said his privilege, her race and social unrest were on his mind.
“Then you throw in George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, okay, so you sit there as a white man and you see all of this going on and you can see these kids suffering,” Pruitt said.
“… (It’s) pitiful when you sit in a room and you hear grown men, and I’m talking about our coaches too, when they talk about growing up and the circumstances that they’ve been under, because it’s hard for a white man to understand, right.”
Pruitt defended its actions to investigators for giving the mother $300.
"I would do it again because I don't think it's breaking the rules (based on what would've been available through UT’s Student Assistance Fund if not for the pandemic)," Pruitt said. "I don't know about y'all, but I've got little kids, and I hope one of these days when I'm dead and gone that somebody does the right thing for them."
Pruitt thought moms turned on him to protect sons
Mothers of former UT players told investigators that Pruitt gave them four-figure payouts. But they only did that after the NCAA granted their sons limited immunity, meaning they could retain their eligibility in exchange for cooperating with investigators.
In Pruitt’s response, his lawyer called the mothers “self-interested parents” who took part in “eligibility-driven interviews.”
One of the moms got $300 in the Chick-fil-A bag but claimed to also have received $3,000 to pay medical bills. Pruitt admitted to the prior but denied the latter.
A mom of a different player said Pruitt gave her $6,000 for a down payment on a vehicle, but he denied it.
Neither mother said much in their first interview. But they implicated Pruitt in later interviews and produced corroborating evidence. Pruitt argued that they only said what investigators wanted to hear in order to keep their sons eligible.
Both players transferred to others schools and played immediately.
Pruitt carried wads of cash at Alabama
Bank records showed that Pruitt and assistant coach Brian Niedermeyer made large cash withdrawals on dates surrounding all-expenses-paid recruiting visits and alleged payments to recruits, players and their families.
Both said that didn’t mean anything because it’s normal for them to have large amounts of cash on hand.Pruitt cited his bank records to show that his cash-driven lifestyle dates back to his time at Alabama.
As UT coach from 2018-20, Pruitt and his wife made 75 four-figure or five-figure cash withdrawals from their bank account, the report said. He earned $3.8 million annually.
As Alabama defensive coordinator from 2016-17, the Pruitts made 40 four-figure or five-figure withdrawals. He earned $1 million in 2016 and $1.3 million in 2017.
Pruitt accused the NCAA of cherry-picking a few large withdrawals as evidence that he paid players. But the NCAA also considered testimony, text messages, phone records and other evidence to corroborate the allegations.
Pruitt admitted to paying two players in dire need
Pruitt said he violated NCAA rules for the first time in his 16-year college coaching career when he gave money to players in dire situations during the COVID shutdown.
One player was living alone in a dorm, and Pruitt was concerned about his mental health.
Pruitt said he drove the player around Knoxville to give him some company. But the player started talking about things that made no sense, so Pruitt called UT athletics' medical staff for assistance.
When the player said he didn’t have much to eat, Pruitt said he gave him $100.
“And I told him, I said, ‘If you need anything else, you call me,’ ” Pruitt told investigators.
Pruitt said he also helped another player who didn’t have diapers or formula for his baby. He said he gave that player $150.
Pruitt said he reported both violations to Adam Tate, UT’s assistant athletics director for compliance. But, according to Pruitt’s response, investigators never followed up on that fact. Still, Pruitt conceded that both were violations.
Pruitt said he’d been penalized enough already
Pruitt agreed that he should be punished, albeit to a lesser degree. He said he was guilty of minor violations, but he would accept accountability for others who committed serious violations under his watch without his knowledge.
Pruitt’s response called his coaches and staff members “bad actors,” who should bear the brunt of the punishment.
Pruitt offered to self-impose a one-year show-cause penalty. But he also argued that being fired for cause, forfeiting a $12 million buyout and not being hired by another school for the past two seasons should be considered ample punishment.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee NCAA probe: Jeremy Pruitt cites George Floyd, Alabama cash
