Vols Linebacker Jeremy Banks Kicked Off the Team

October 4, 2019

Rick Nyman,

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Jeremy Banks has been dismissed from the Tennessee football team after video showed him cursing and saying “where I’m from, we shoot at cops” during his arrest last month following a traffic stop. The linebacker has apologized .

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said in a statement Friday he decided to “remove” Banks in the best interest of the team and university.

During a conference call Wednesday of Southeastern Conference coaches, Pruitt said the team “addressed the matter internally” and Banks’ behavior was unacceptable. Banks practiced that day in a workout open to media.

He was arrested Sept. 15 after a records check during a traffic stop just before 4 a.m. revealed he had an active warrant for failure to appear on an earlier charge of driving with a suspended license.

Pruitt’s decision leaves the Volunteers thin at linebacker after Will Ignont left the team last week. Tennessee (1-3, 0-1 Southeastern Conference) hosts No. 3 Georgia (4-0, 1-0) on Saturday.