Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti suggested the NCAA may be seeking “payback” in its investigation into the University of Tennessee because of the university’s success in fending off a postseason ban against the Vols in the Jeremy Pruitt recruiting scandal.
And Skrmetti criticized the NCAA for its “pick-and-choose” enforcement of “opaque” rules involving name, image and likeness benefits for UT athletes while other schools go unchecked.
“I suspect given the aggression with which the NCAA appears to have treated the University (of Tennessee) that there may be a little bit of a payback situation,” Skrmetti told Knox News on Wednesday.
“Because UT pushed back and stood up for the rights of its students, it’s in the crosshairs again. That’s just not right.”
In July, the NCAA put UT football on probation for five years as part of the recruiting scandal under Pruitt, the fired coach . But the Vols avoided a postseason ban, beating the charge of lack of institutional control alleged by the NCAA enforcement staff.