UK report says not enough evidence Vito Tisdale had gun at fraternity party

More details are emerging about the incident involving six Kentucky Football players at an off-campus fraternity party in March. Friends and family of Vito Tisdale, who is charged with wanton endangerment for allegedly brandishing a firearm at the party, released the report from the UK Office of Student Conduct to BBN Tonight. While the hearing board determined Tisdale participated in the fight, a violation of UK’s Code of Student Conduct, they agreed there was not enough evidence to say with certainty he had a gun. The board also agreed that racial slurs played a “significant role” in the events and led to its escalation.

Friends and family of Vito Tisdale have released to @BBNTonight and @LEX18News the letter sent to Vito Tisdale after the student conduct hearings.

"hearing board agreed there was not a preponderance of evidence to say with certainty that DeVito had a gun." pic.twitter.com/9xCUKKg0mF

— BBN Tonight (@BBNTonight) September 1, 2021

The UK Office of Student Conduct investigated the incident and cleared the six players — Tisdale, RJ Adams, JuTahn McClain, Andru Phillips, Earnest Sanders, Joel Williams — in June. On Thursday, August 19, they were charged with first-degree burglary and Tisdale with wanton endangerment. According to the charging documents, three players were asked to leave a party, then returned with three others to force their way into the private home.

Alpha Sigma Phi, the fraternity that hosted the party, was placed on probation. Students who purportedly attended the party spoke anonymously to WDRB, sharing graphic details of the incident. According to court records, a “physical altercation” took place, and some suffered injuries; however, a criminal complaint filed into court did not specify what those injures were.

In its report, the hearing board said all reports of a gun or guns were “hearsay” and there was nothing in the police report about a gun being found on any persons. They also note that the witness accounts of Tisdale having a gun are “inconsistent.”

Witness [REDACTED] account of a gun was inconsistent. First on page 41 of the hearing packed, [REDACTED] stated, “saw a gun tucked in waistband of ‘first guy’ whom he couldn’t identify…then said “saw gun in waistband of DeVito Tisdale.” Then on page 44 of the hearing packed, [REDACTED] stated, DeVito pointed a gun at someone outside so he heard… And then he said “think there were 4 guns.” In the hearing [REDACTED] did state he saw a gun in the waistband of DeVito.

The report also includes testimony from Tisdale’s roommate, Ruben Adams, who was at the party and said he has never seen Tisdale with a gun, including at the party that night. Former LMPD Homicide Sergeant and Kentucky State Representative Denny Butler is working with the players on the case and called into KSR yesterday and said Tisdale passed a polygraph test stating he did not have a gun at the party; however, polygraphs are not admissible in court.

Tisdale found responsible of participating in fight

The hearing board did find Tisdale responsible for violating UK’s Code of Student Conduct policy L, Harm and Threat of Harm, for participating in the fight at the party. At his hearing on June 7, Tisdale stated he “got hit, struck, and fought back.” The report also includes a statement from a witness claiming Tisdale shoved or hit her. She said she didn’t know who he was at the time and picked his picture out to identify him.

For violating the Code of Student Conduct, Tisdale was placed on conduct probation until December 15, 2021. He was also required to schedule an appointment with UK’s Counseling Center, write a research paper about conflict resolution, participate in a follow-up discussion with the Office of Student Conduct, and write an 800-word paper reflecting on his actions.

GoFundMe set up to hire attorneys for Tisdale and others

Last Wednesday, all six players pleaded not guilty to first-degree burglary charges and waived their right to a preliminary hearing in Fayette District Court. The case will now go to a grand jury. Butler and a group formed to fight wrongful convictions set up a GoFundMe page to hire representation for two or three players that cannot afford it, including Tisdale.

The page, “Defense fund for 6 innocent UofK football players,” went live yesterday. The goal is to raise $250,000 for attorney’s fees for the players. Any remaining money will be donated to the 22 Oats Strong GoFundMe for Chris Oats’ rehabilitation. So far, they have raised over $18,000.

UK Hearing Board finds use of racial slurs played “significant role” in fight

The other notable takeaway from UK’s report is that the board agreed racial slurs were used at the party and led to the fight. That backs up the statements from the players on the GoFundMe page.

“The hearing board members were in agreement that alcohol and the use of racial slurs played a significant role in the events on the evening of March 6th and cause the escalation of those events,” the report states.

The GoFundMe page includes a detailed account of the slurs in a timeline of events from March 6.

Two UK freshman football players were invited to the party and decided to attend

Shortly after arriving, an intoxicated female in the house stated ” who let the n*****s in”

One player was confronted inside by an intoxicated male trying to smooth things over

Both players could hear racial slurs like “Get out n****r” and threats like “Let’s beat their a**” from other rooms in the house. The threats and slurs became louder and more intense.

Concerned for their safety, a player summoned help from other freshman football players and an altercation ensued on the property. A few party attendees suffered minor injuries.

Lexington Police were notified and a report taken

“Defense fund for 6 innocent UofK football players,” GoFundMe

Mark Stoops stands by his players

On Monday, Mark Stoops said that between UK’s investigation and the current charges, the six players have been away from the team for at least 13 weeks.

“I appreciate the university and the way they went through a thorough investigation and cleared our players and the way they went about it and gave them a fair process. I greatly appreciate them. If I had any evidence whatsoever that our players are doing something that needs to be addressed, we have no problem with addressing that and disciplining our players. We’ll continue to evaluate that process and see how it plays out.

“We have been patient. Our players have been patient and you have to trust the system; that gets hard. Our players have been out a long time. They missed probably 13, 14 weeks of time on the field right now with this situation. I have to believe in this system.”