Former state Rep. Durham kicked out of UT game
Jeremy Durham allegedly hit a University of Florida fan in the face during the University of Tennessee’s football game Saturday, resulting in the Franklin Republican being escorted out of Neyland Stadium by law enforcement.
There are no official details about what happened, but several witnesses confirmed an officer approached Durham and asked him to leave after the incident. The recently expelled lawmaker complied and was escorted out of the stands by a
Blount County Sheriff’s deputy.
Photos and video obtained by The Tennessean verify Durham was approached by the deputy and others after the
hitting incident.
When initially approached by event staff, Durham said, “Did you see what he did? He pushed me. And I pushed his sunglasses off.”
A Tennessee fan who saw what happened said Durham was sitting with his wife and state Sen. Brian Kelsey, a longtime friend of Durham’s. The Tennessee fan said a particularly boisterous Florida fan was yelling loudly, and at one point Durham responded to the yells. The Florida fan started yelling at Durham. Once the Florida fan yelled at Durham, the Tennessee fan said Durham turned around and hit the man in the face.
“As he hit the guy’s face, almost slapped at his face, he caused the guy’s glasses to fly off his face. [The glasses] probably went 10 to 12 people down the aisle and one row in front,” said the fan, who requested anonymity for fear of retaliation.
David Williams, son of former Tennessee House Speaker Kent Williams, who was seated three rows behind the Florida fan and four rows behind Durham, said, “I saw Mr. Durham turn around and basically smack the guy in the face and it knocked the sunglasses off his head.”
Williams said the Florida fan — whom he estimated to be 17 to 20 years old — didn’t retaliate before reporting the incident.
The Tennessee fan said the stadium was quiet at the time, thanks to UT’s poor performance, so everyone in the area could hear the Florida fan and Durham’s confrontation. The Tennessee fan recognized Durham due to ongoing media coverage about his inappropriate behavior with women and Kelsey because he is a state senator.
Kelsey, R-Germantown, said he was uncertain what prompted the deputy’s request, because he was focused on the football game.
“I didn’t witness anything unusual,” Kelsey said, reiterating he didn’t see the altercation. He added, “But it was obvious the officer had asked questions of a Florida fan behind us.”
Kelsey said he didn’t remember Durham responding to the deputy, but the ex-lawmaker complied with the request to leave. At the time, Durham’s wife, Jessica, who was sitting with them, also left.
When asked about the possibility of Durham being involved in the altercation, Kelsey later said via text, “If that behavior did occur, it’s totally unacceptable and it’s unbecoming of a Vol fan.”
Karen Simsen, a spokeswoman for the university, said Monday that although victims involved in altercations or assaults can file a report, the university did not receive a report of the alleged incident.
Although she could not confirm the incident involved Durham, she said anyone who would be ejected from a game would typically be processed through a station in the stadium.
Simsen said the university is unable to provide many details about the incident because it occurred during a “crazy busy” period of the game during the second quarter.
Lt. Mike Richardson, a spokesman for the campus police, said he did not have any records of an arrest or citation related to Durham.
“It is possible that any individual could be asked to leave the stadium by law enforcement if they were causing a disturbance without [being] taken to the Transfer Station due to the high call volume during such an event,” Richardson said.
Campus police’s crime log — which includes crimes that occur on UT-owned or controlled property — has not been updated since Sept. 21.