Tennessee first-year coach Lane Kiffin offered an explanation for those questioning his recent claim about his football team's spotless police record.
"When I said 'incidents', the conversation was dealing with arrests and we had not had any arrests in 11 months and 11 days," Kiffin said Wednesday.
Kiffin made the claim about UT's record Nov. 12 when asked about three Vols - receiver Nu'Keese Richardson and defensive backs Mike Edwards and Janzen Jackson - who were arrested for attempted armed robbery.
Kiffin was questioned about the specifics of his statement after news broke Tuesday about Nyshier Oliver's citation for theft by shoplifting at Dillard's department store hours before the Vols played a home against Memphis on Nov. 7. It was five days before Kiffin's claim.
The freshman defensive back was cited to appear in court Nov. 23.
Kiffin said he did not believe Oliver was arrested. That would have made his statement about his team's police record valid.
"He was not arrested," Kiffin said about Oliver, who wasn't allowed to dress for the Memphis game, "and we dealt with it internally."
Kiffin said he doesn't like using the word "arrest".
"Sometimes I say 'No arrests in 11 months,' " Kiffin said. "Sometimes I say 'No incidents.' "
Kiffin said Oliver has responded well to the internal discipline he received.
"He's doing great," Kiffin said. "He's doing extremely well in school and he's working extremely hard as a redshirt."
Oliver has not played this season and will redshirt. He was mistakenly listed on utsports.com as having played against Alabama.
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Comments » 104
KJVol writes:
Hang in there Coach. You inherited a mess and the Old Guard sympathizers are on your tail. Just keep building the program and the rest will take care of itself.
mercuryvol writes:
Anybody believe CLK and coaches are not doing a better job this year than what we had going since 2001?
BigOrangeInCarolina writes:
All the trolls on here criticizing CLK for this should think back a couple of years when Satan went on virtually every news outlet there was and emphatically stated that he would not be the next coach at Alabama. Everybody sees how that turned out. You look at virtually any coach in the nation and you will find some type of misleading comment or, in Satan's case, an outright lie. You look at any program and you will find skeletons in their closet. You look at the SEC, the big boys of college football, and (perhaps with the exception of Bobby Johnson and Vanderbilt) you will find multiple serious transgressions committed by players. People are just on UT because CLK is new and outspoken, and that scares them.Give him and the coaching staff a couple years recruiting and some depth to work with and an outspoken coach will be the least of their worries. GO BIG ORANGE!!! FOCUS ON VANDY AND LOCK UP A BOWL!!!
MidTennVol writes:
Is Bill Clinton this guy's tutor on how to parse his words and not shoot straight?
"It depends on what your definition of 'is' is."
ocmdba#499253 writes:
"Inherited"?
Each and every one of the players involved in the "incidents/arrests" of the last week were hand-picked recruits of CLK.
Each and every one...
DrJCrown_theMagicMan writes:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GemB6u...
Ohio State got punked out!
DrJCrown_theMagicMan writes:
Lane is going to build this Dynasty and run it like a buisness...you watch and see.
Im making a prediction,very seldon am I wrong.
nightprowler writes:
It was home coming and boy wanted to look nice for the vol-walk give him a break
VolFanInTheBoro (Inactive) writes:
Oliver originally committed to Fulmer
Alt_news (Inactive) writes:
"I did not have sex with that woman, Miss Lewinsky."
SavTnVol writes:
Or maybe he learned from Dubya.....He HAS weapons of mast destruction!.......geez, give me a break....this is a football blog...lay off the politics....
kevin151 writes:
I'll give him the benefit of the doubt but maybe Lane is full of BS?
cinnanutz writes:
Hooker, this is a non-story. You should try to objectively cover UT football, I know that will be a stretch for you. Kiffin must have really hurt your sensitive feelings for you to try and catch him on this story. Coach, keep up the good work and continue to evaluate the usefulness of allowing Fulmer apologetics (Hooker and Hyams) close to the program.
GreerVol22 writes:
Check yourself RMF. Technically it is NOT an arrest. If I need to post the written law again for you I will. And Kiffin didn't lie about it since he wasn't arrested. Your the same kind of person that argues that our colors are White and Organge vs Orange and White. Find something meaningful to comment about.
GoGators15 writes:
How did he "inherit" 4 Freshmen who have been arrested? All the arrests this year have been HIS kids. 4/19 kids have criminal records. Call it whatever you want - that to me is bad.
PS - there is no real difference in the end between an arrest and a citation. He COULD have been arrested for what he did. Instead the officer let him go. In the end - he committed a crime. Same as the other 3.
rockytop#413695 writes:
All you Kiffin haters will just have to grin and bare it. He's here to stay and whatever spin you want to put on this incident thing is irrelevant. He has handled all the "incidents" with discipline and caring not only for his players but for the University and the team. The players love him and this coaching staff. They have improved immensely on and off the field. As he says, it's how you handle the adversity that counts and I give him an A on how he has handled the arrests and the citation. He has protected his players yet disciplining them and letting everyone know this behaviour will not be tolerated. He didn't make a hasty rash decision but took hit time to gather all the facts. Sounds like a great leader to me.
jman33163 writes:
To all the trolls: YAWN, you are boring the phooey out of us! The only people that give 2 sh**s about what you say are other trolls. Go back to your own websites and pat each other on the back and feel like you matter. All you do here is waste bandwidth.
Go Big Orange
AllVol2008#1353998 writes:
Boy, you got that right.
fronix5000 writes:
>>>hey greervol22...you made a mistake in your name. maybe you were too excited to join. shouldn't you be GreerGator22? or is the G just supposed to be a Q?<<<
rockytop4ever writes:
Most coaches will not kick a player off a team for stealing a shirt. Thats a very minor offense. Happens 100 times a day at the mall. Robbery at pellet point is a different matter all together. Point is that Brandon Spikes tried to blind a guy and got suspended for a game...eventually. If you think Oliver really deserved more punishment than he got thats crazy. He already isn't playing this year. I'm sure he did his share of extra laps after practice. As far as CLK's comments go, What do you expect him to say? He is trying to save face and I don't blame him a bit. Would you do anything different if you were the coach?
fronix5000 writes:
I mean G = Q...remove the R.
GreerVol22 writes:
sorry fronix, I don't get your childish comment. Nothing in my coment suggests I'm a Gator....which I am not nor aspire to be. I was making my point that RMF didn't know what he is talking about, guess I need to include you as well.
lahvolman2 writes:
AGREE!!!! Piss and moan all you want to.. call him what you want to... accuse him of all you want to.. but the fact remains that he is here to stay until "HE" decides otherwise.. you detractors and former and present FOOLMER lovers may as well get over it or get off the TRAIN cause it's gonna leave the station without you anyway...
OTPVol writes:
I doubt CLK will be chasing any Lewinski's or any other skirts. With Layla waiting at the house, ain't gonna happen.
AFVol423 writes:
Much talk about nothing. There are different levels of offenses and different levels of punishment. Pull a gun, off the team, Open the door so the victim can't excape, off the team. Sit in the car and yell lets go when it's apparent there aren't enough cheeseburgers to go around, Suspended pending additional info. Steal a shirt, don't dress for a game you wouldn't play in anyway (plus probably some other things that aren't being reported). So far I don't have a problem with what the coach has done. There have been a lot less negatives in the paper this year than before. I'm waiting to see what happens during the off season.
UT4ever writes:
Get a life HOoker!!! or go back to Bammer!! HOHOOHO!!!
tulelakevol writes:
I know I am doing it, but quit commenting on Hookers garbage. Comments, clicks, hits, they all help this punk.
DC_Vol writes:
Bottom Line Kiffin is still here and will be here long after you go back to your Florida or Alabama board. Quit pretending to be so outraged over the meaning of the word Incident or Arrest. You are just trying to stir the pot.
Why don't you worry about the assualt charges that should have been filed against Spikes? LOL Just kidding.
mbresp writes:
I hope you both are right. I was disappointed when Phil waddled off but your brilliant replacement pick from the Ringling Brother's clown circus has me excited to grin and bear it as long as possible. In addition to the entertainment of watching the Vols struggle to play .500 ball and enough wardrobe changes to compete with a Cher concert, I get the added chuckles from anything Lil' Lyin' Lannie has time to say when he pulls his foot out of his cake hole. Keep it coming guys, the entertainment value is priceless.
Incinigator writes:
It's been eleven months and eighteen days since Monte's kid has accepted any personal responsibility, shown any common respect for others(that can't benefit him), represented ut with dignity, realized he's accomplished NOTHING (accept a hot wife), or gone very long without speaking an untruth.
go vols.
GreerVol22 writes:
its been 5 minutes since your diarrhea of the mouth began...
Ayres_Hall writes:
From the President of the USA on down the ranks, the use of spin is a part of the game they feel they must play. Saban, Meyer, Miles, and Richt are no different than Kiffin and each has his own method of fooling part of the people most of the time.
jack_2222#231746 writes:
I am so sick of the "everybody else does it" excuse.
That's what they say in Congress when they steal. lie, cheat, mislead and distort.
Sure stuff happens, but this pervasive culture of rationalizing your mistakes by the fact "others do it" is childish and ultimately self defeating.
VolunteerLifer writes:
Wow you are a moron. Just because you have nothing to say here doesn't mean you always have nothing to say, but it probably does. Technically, this is picking at nits and trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. There is no lie here, just a difference in perception of some innocent remarks, and an attempt by the program's enemies to cast it into something that it isn't. You are not an impartial observer, you are a Kiffin hater and a UT football hater, and nothing you say on these boards has credibility.
pdowned writes:
Hang in there Coach. It will take awhile longer for the News-Sentinel hacks to realize that their readers don't particularly endorse or enjoy hair-splitting useless articles constantly criticizing the home team. Like when they finally fire half of the useless staff, starting with the Sports Editor.
Alt_news (Inactive) writes:
Ask the sister of one of the players...one who works on the 2nd floor of the NTSC. Sometimes a guy just can't wait till he gets home. Pathological liars can be that way, you know.
navarrebeachvol writes:
you can't get enough of Kiffin can ya, Mary? Got a lil man crush thing going me thinks. ewww.
gvegasvol writes:
Yea, I caught that too. Amazing how many of these idiots are drinking the kool-aide. So many cannot leave a comment without a negative remark concerning a previous coach.
navarrebeachvol writes:
You like our coach. Got a little thing for him. You know it. We know it. It's ok. We'll let you along for the ride but you can leave the other trolls behind. But for now, get back in the kitchen and bake a cake and fold that laundry!
FEARinSEC writes:
FIRESANDERS!!! Oh, wait, we already did....
FEARinSEC writes:
Dang, you're easily amused... Tell tale sign of a low IQ....
It's ok, though, we don't expect much else from Alabubba fans....
FEARinSEC writes:
g8rgal just wishes our coach and QB would have a little thing like Meyer/Tebow.... Eskimo kisses and all....
It's a little fantasy of hers.... SHHHHH, don't tell anyone else....
navarrebeachvol writes:
hey sport, ready for that annual beat down in 2 weeks? Nation's longest winning streak: UT over the Kittens of Ky.
seventysevenvol writes:
huh?
seventysevenvol writes:
you stole my thought...
seventysevenvol writes:
Careful, the KNS staff will remove your comment! :)
FEARinSEC writes:
Not to much thought coming from those brains, huh?
seventysevenvol writes:
Your comment will get pulled by the staff too!
Pompey writes:
SPOT ON !
Fla_Vol writes:
Stay off this site Troller!!!!Go back to Alabama and finish your 8th grade.What do you mean by the word "dosent" Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,
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