Yet another layer has been added to a story that has been developing over the past couple of days.
Friday afternoon, Tennessee confirmed that linebacker Jeremy Banks had been dismissed by Jeremy Pruitt from his Vols football program. It was assumed at the time that the dismissal was connected to a mid-September traffic stop, the video of which surfaced Wednesday, which included numerous vulgar threats directed at police officers.
However, Pruitt indicated in his statement that the dismissal stemmed from “information I recently received.” According to TMZ.com, that information was actually video and other reports from a separate incident in late August in which Banks allegedly threatened a female -- the female alleged that Banks said he was going to smack her after she refused him entry to the party -- and security guards outside of a Knoxville party. The woman also claimed that Banks had been harassing her for months.
As a result, and after a UT investigation, a no-contact order was issued against Banks. It was subsequently confirmed that Banks had violated the university’s student code of conduct.
At that point, and with TMZ set to report the story, Pruitt had the new information he alluded to in his statement, which left him with no other choice but to dismiss the player.
A sophomore, Banks had played in every game for the Vols this season as a backup. His two interceptions in the Week 3 win over FCS UT-Chattanooga marked the first time a Vols linebacker had a pair in the same game since 1981.