KNOXVILLE (AP) - A Tennessee football player and basketball player have been dismissed from their teams, and a second basketball player has been suspended indefinitely after the three were involved in a confrontation.
Linebacker Daniel Brooks and forward Jemere Hendrix were dismissed on Monday, athletic director Mike Hamilton announced.
"There have been some issues in the past with these guys and this was just the final straw," Hamilton said Tuesday. "In talking about and discussing it with our coaches and the kids, it was decided it needed to be the end."
Brooks was suspended from the first three games of the season following a variety of problems, including driving with a suspended license and being accused more than once of hitting fellow students.
Hendrix was already suspended from the basketball team since being charged with marijuana possession and driving without a license in August in Covington, Ga. Another forward, Andre Patterson, has been suspended indefinitely.
Brooks and Patterson had an ongoing feud, and Brooks told coaches the basketball players confronted him on Monday after class.
Football coach Phillip Fulmer said Brooks did not instigate Monday's incident, but he was still at fault. The coaches also discovered Brooks broke curfew on Saturday night.
"We have made every effort to help Daniel work through some issues," Fulmer said in a release. "Unfortunately, we have decided it's in everyone's best interest to go our separate ways."
No further information was given in the short statement from the athletic department.
Brooks, a junior, has played in 21 games over the last two seasons with no starts. He was considered a top Tennessee high school prospect out of Central-Merry in Jackson.
Basketball coach Bruce Pearl said he was disappointed in his players.
"We set standards that we expect our student-athletes to adhere to both on and off the court. We will not tolerate anything less," Pearl said in a statement.
