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.”
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.”
That’s a boss move…. And luckily for student athletes, this precedent means there may never be a post season ban again