Butch Jones-Mack Crowder Altercation: Where is the Video?

Tennessee Vols Coach Butch Jones’s alleged altercation with Volunteers lineman Mack Crowder is said to be confirmed by video. Why has it not been shown yet?

It has now been a day since Gridiron Now reported that a source close to Tennessee alleged Butch Jones and offensive lineman Mack Crowder were involved in a physical altercation during fall camp and that it was captured on the practice film.

Jones called the allegations ridiculous. Crowder’s family had no comment.

But all of this begs one big question: where is the video?

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This column is not to convict or acquit Jones. If he is guilty of something like that, then its level of severity needs to be examined. However, the source said this was captured on the practice film that day.

If that is the case, then who owns the practice film? That will be the deciding factor in all of this.

The Freedom of Information Act request about the correspondence with Crowder’s family means nothing. If Crowder is making this claim, then his family is obviously going to support him, and whether or not they had communication with the university at that point will not tell any story unless somewhere within that communication confirms the allegations directly.

However, the video is a different story. If the practice film that allegedly captured the incident is university property, then the university needs to release it. That is the only way to prove what happened. To not release indicts Jones more than Crowder.

In fact, Jones, if he is truly innocent of this and more smoke develops, should be shouting to the sky for the video to be released if owned by the university to acquit him of what happened. Otherwise, he also looks guilty.

At the same time, why has the source not released the video? The source that is making these allegations and claiming there is video evidence is obviously bold enough to cast the Tennessee Vols coaching staff in a negative light, which is fine, but why not then be bold enough to get the video out?

Again, this depends on who the source is affiliated and who owns the video. But until we can at least find out who owns the video, there is no reason to make anything of these allegations.

You cannot claim there is video evidence of such a serious allegation and then never have the video released if you can do it. Trace the video back to its source, even if you don’t have access to it, and you get much closer your answer about what happened.

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Tennessee Vols Coach Butch Jones’s alleged altercation with Volunteers lineman Mack Crowder is said to be confirmed by video. Why has it not been shown yet?

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