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Rick Barnes finally addresses accusations against Texas

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Former Texas head coach and current Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes has finally addressed the accusations levied against his old program.

Earlier this month, The Chronicle of Higher Education published a story claiming that three former Texas players were someway involved with academic impropriety while in school. P.J. Tucker and J’Covan Brown both allegedly received improper help while writing papers, while Martez Walker was accused of getting caught cheating on a test in a class that he later passed.

“If you read the article, from my point of view, there’s no legs to it,” Barnes said to the Knoxville News on Monday. “I think Texas has said everything that needed to be said. I’m sure they’ll proceed with whatever they think they have to do there, but it was made clear that I had no involvement in it, which I knew. If I thought there was something, I would address (it). The fact it has no legs, I’m not really concerned about it.”

The university has put in motion internal and external investigations, and the school’s athletic director has said there is no evidence that Barnes was involved in the alleged misconduct.

“I guess if I would say anything, it would be that it’s just disappointing why my picture was put there with it anyway,” Barnes added. “If I did make a statement, it would have been that I hate for everything that’s happened here at the University of Tennessee, for something like that to pop up. But from where I stand and where I sit and what I know and the people I’m close to back there, everyone says, ‘Hey, you know there’s nothing to it. There’s no legs to it, so why get involved?’”