Mark Stoops stands by six charged players “until I have the evidence that tells me otherwise”

To start his first press conference of the 2021 season, Mark Stoops addressed the elephant in the room: the burglary charges facing six of his players stemming from an incident at an off-campus fraternity party in March. In his most candid remarks on the matter, Stoops said he stands by his players, who were cleared by the UK Office of Student Conduct after an investigation this summer.

“I know there’s been a few headlines this summer,” Stoops said. “As you know, we pride ourselves on having a disciplined football team and we’ve done things as well as we can for a long time and we’ll continue to do that. We’ll continue to do things right and have discipline on our football team.”

On August 19, RJ Adams, JuTahn McClain, Andru Phillips, Earnest Sanders, Joel Williams, and Vito Tisdale were charged with first-degree burglary for returning to a party they were asked to leave. All six pleaded not guilty and waived their right to a preliminary hearing in Fayette District Court, moving the case to a grand jury. Tisdale was also charged with wanton endangerment for allegedly brandishing a firearm.

Stoops, the staff, and the administration have known about the incident since March. The UK Office of Student Conduct also reviewed it and cleared the players to return to the team in June; however, when the charges were made earlier this month, the players were pulled back out of practice.

“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,” Stoops said today. “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.”

Prior to Stoops’ press conference, former Louisville Police Sargeant and Kentucky State Legislator Denny Butler called in to today’s KSR radio show. Butler is working with the players, who he believes were wrongfully charged. He said a GoFundMe page is being set up for two or three that can’t afford representation. During his press conference, Stoops mentioned Butler, who spoke to the team over the summer.

“During the summer we brought in a speaker, Denny Butler, who spent time exonerating wrongfully convicted people, and Edwin Chandler, who spent time on death row, was in there with us and talked to our team. It was very powerful. Really appreciate Chief Weathers, Chief Monroe. They were there as well. Very supportive and very comforting to our players to know it’s not always personal. There are flaws in the system sometimes and we have to trust that system and we will.

“I also stand by our players until I have the evidence that tells me otherwise. So, I hope to have all the players out there but I don’t know; that’s out of my hands. We’ll see what happens. We’ll go from there.”

When asked if he believes so much that his players were wrongfully convicted that he is considering reinstating them, Stoops hesitated.

“I’ve got to be careful in how I say it. I want to. I want to. But we’ll see.”

“It’s hard for me. I have to respect the system and I do. I completely trust our prosecutors. I completely trust our Chief. They’re not responsible for the investigation. This went on in March. March 3? I don’t know. It’s hard. I’ve got to bite my tongue. I just know what’s been done to our players. I’m not sure what’s been done to others.”

What We Know

On Thursday, August 19, six Kentucky football players — RJ Adams, JuTahn McClain, Andru Phillips, Earnest Sanders, Joel Williams, and Vito Tisdale –were charged with first-degree burglary stemming from an incident at an off-campus fraternity party on March 6. According to the charging documents, three players were asked to leave a party. They then returned with three others to force their way into the private home. Tisdale was also charged with wanton endangerment for allegedly brandishing a firearm.

Alpha Sigma Phi, the fraternity that hosted the party, is 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.

All six players pleaded not guilty during arraignment on Friday, August 20. Fayette County District Judge Joseph T. Bouvier, the father of former UK wide receiver David Bouvier, ordered the players to stay away from the victims and the site where the incident took place. On Wednesday, August 25, the players waived their right to a preliminary hearing, which will send the case to a grand jury.

Mark Stoops’ Previous Comments

“We have been aware of this matter since March, as we withheld the players from team activities while a student conduct review was held,” Stoops said in his initial statement on August 19. “Based on the outcome of the review, the players returned to activity in June. We are evaluating the current situation as we receive more information.”

On Saturday, August 21, Stoops spoke at length about the situation, telling reporters the players have once again been pulled out of practice.

“Anytime there are situations like that, we take it very seriously and we address it and we look at it. We did. Is there new information that we don’t know about? I’m not sure. That’s what we have to look at, but they deserve an opportunity to defend themselves. We’ll let that process play out.”

On Monday, August 23 at the Kentucky Football Kickoff Luncheon in Louisville, Stoops was confident the players would return to the team soon.

“I know there are a few things going on out there right now that we will get straight, I promise ya. I love this team, I love these players. None of them are perfect. That’s for sure. We don’t ever pretend to be, but you’re going to love this team.”

“This is a fantastic group. There are a couple of hiccups that are in the road right now, but I anticipate we’ll get through those just fine and get everybody back on the football field playing.”