Tennessee attorney general threatened NCAA with state law before Jeremy Pruitt verdict, records show
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti threatened legal action against the NCAA if it had given the University of Tennessee football team a postseason ban in the Jeremy Pruitt recruiting scandal, documents show.
The weapon was a new state law protecting college players’ right to earn money from name, image and likeness.
It was amended during the investigation to match UT’s needs. And it was leveraged by UT to produce a favorable verdict from the NCAA.
The NCAA did not give the Vols a bowl ban. So that legal battle won’t take place.
[ Tennessee beat writer Adam Sparks and Knox News are leading the conversation on the Vols' NCAA violations case under Jeremy Pruitt. Sign up for Sparks' text group today to get exclusive access to his reporting ]
Skrmetti was raring for a fight, if needed, according to a letter he sent the NCAA before Pruitt and UT appeared before a Committee on Infractions in a hearing.
The letter was obtained by Knox News through an open records request.
“Tennessee law prohibits the NCAA from imposing such a sanction (as a postseason ban), and I will not hesitate to vindicate the rights of UT students to enjoy the full measure of their intercollegiate athletic opportunities,” Skrmetti wrote in the letter.
“NCAA rules cannot supersede Tennessee law.”
On Friday, the NCAA announced the verdict of the case. Pruitt received a six-year show cause penalty. And seven former UT assistant coaches and staff members got multi-year show-cause orders.
A show-cause penalty means a university cannot hire a coach or recruiter without NCAA approval during the length of the ban. Pruitt's show-cause includes a 100% suspension for the first year of employment should an NCAA school hire in him in any athletics position.
UT was put on a five-year probation, which includes 28 scholarship cuts, recruiting restrictions, vacated wins and a fine of at least $8 million. But it did not include a postseason ban after UT mounted an attack from multiple fronts.
Skrmetti’s letter was part of its final salvo.
Why NCAA let letter into Tennessee case at last minute
On March 31, Skrmetti sent the letter to Scott Bearby, NCAA vice president of legal affairs. It had the potential to carry weight, or at least UT thought so.
UT petitioned to get the letter entered into the case record for its NCAA infractions hearing under the 30-day deadline. The NCAA granted the request just seven days before the hearing began on April 19 in Cincinnati.
The NCAA also thought it could carry weight.
In its response, the NCAA accepted the late submission because Skrmetti’s letter appeared to be “pertinent to the institution’s arguments with respect to … the imposition of penalties.”
Why NIL could’ve been used against postseason ban
Skrmetti told the NCAA that a postseason ban would violate state law because it prohibits players’ ability to earn money for their name, image and likeness.
New state laws have challenged the reach of the NCAA authority over universities in the NIL space. But using them to combat the possibility of a postseason ban is a unique tactic.
Skrmetti cited Tennessee Code 49-7-2803, which was amended in April 2022 with a carveout to protect student-athletes from being punished for violations they didn’t commit.
“An athletic association’s governing actions … must not interfere with an intercollegiate athlete’s ability to earn compensation in accordance with this part and must not otherwise impact an intercollegiate athlete’s eligibility or full participation in intercollegiate athletic events,” the law says, “unless the intercollegiate athlete has committed a violation of rules.”
Exclusive coverage: Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt learn NCAA penalties
Fulmer was either fooled by Pruitt or feigned ignorance, records show
Tennessee paid Darnell Washington cash. He still went to Georgia
Vols assistant paid recruits from bank account shared with parents, records show
Fulmer's list of candidates to replace Pruitt included some wild names
Derrick Ansley pointed finger at Pruitt in NCAA investigation. Here's how
How Pruitt, staff members cheated NCAA rules — and penalty each received
NCAA doesn't hammer Casey Pruitt — Jeremy Pruitt's wife — for role in scandal
In other words, a player’s NIL rights would be limited by not playing in a high-profile bowl game. And that’s unfair if the player did nothing wrong.
UT fired the coaches involved and didn’t retain the rest. The players implicated in the most egregious violations transferred, and the remaining players were cleared by the NCAA of any intentional wrongdoing.
“These rules are consistent with basic human decency,” Skrmetti wrote. “Kids who do no wrong should not be punished.”
Why Skrmetti took up Tennessee's fight
Skrmetti, who was sworn in as attorney general in September, doesn’t have clear connections to UT football.
The 46-year-old Skrmetti is originally from Connecticut and now lives in Franklin. He earned degrees from George Washington University, University of Oxford and Harvard Law School.
Skrmetti also was an assistant U.S. attorney in Memphis, general counsel for Gov. Bill Lee and chief deputy to the previous attorney general.
But his political philosophy appeared to fit the fight UT was waging.
Skrmetti, a conservative, has built a reputation for fighting against the federal government. It made him a popular pick among Republican lawmakers in Tennessee, the only state where the attorney general is appointed by the Supreme Court.
Substitute the NCAA for the federal government, and it fits the pattern of Skrmetti’s past positions.
In his letter, he cited the NCAA constitution, which acknowledges “the responsibility of” the NCAA and member institutions “to comply with … state laws.”
Skrmetti closed his argument with a reminder to the NCAA that he would be watching.
“A bowl ban at this point would not just be illegal, it would be fundamentally unfair,” he wrote. “I will follow this matter closely and look forward to learning of its constructive resolution.”
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: How Tennessee attorney general threatened NCAA in Jeremy Pruitt case
