Monday Morning Horn - March 18th, 2013

It was an eventful week for Texas athletics, both from a performance and litigation stand point.

A former coach, forced to resign, filed a discrimination charge to gain the right to sue UT.

And a football player fractured the jaw of a UT tennis player. Over a girl.

On the field, Texas hoops and baseball went a collective 3-3.

So, let’s start with the legal side.

Former Women’s Track and Field coach, Bev Kearney’s attorney, Derek Howard, told ESPN they intend on filing an EEOC and Texas Workforce Commission discrimination charge on Monday, alleging racial and gender bias in Kearney’s forced resignation. She was forced to resign in March after being placed on administrative leave in November when a former player admitted having a inappropriate relationship with the former coach.

Ultimately, it’s a case of Double Standard, in her eyes. Her attorney notes there could be “up to 10 ” such inappropriate relationships at Texas, some ongoing, yet none of these employees have been forced to resign. He brought up the Major Applewhite case, where the football coach had an inappropriate relationship with a student-trainer, yet was not terminated, resulting in only his pay being frozen and subsequent counseling.

There have been two instances where Texas’ staff members have shown a pattern for inappropriate relationships, namely in the past five years. From former Associate athletic director, Cleve Bryant, to the aforementioned Applewhite, these particular cases continue to arise. But as of now, these are the only incidents on record. Bryant was terminated shortly after.

The EEOC won’t make it’s decision for another six months on whether Kearney can go ahead with her suit against UT, so a lot could come out between now and then. But if there’s more to it than Bryant and Applewhite’s particular cases, hold on. This whole thing could blow up. Stay tuned…

Then, the Cayleb Jones stuff drops.

The 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman receiver from Austin, alledgely hit and broke Texas tennis player James Swayland’s left jaw at a downtown nightclub, over a dispute with ex-girlfriend, UT volleyballer Katherine Bell. Apparently, Jones and Bell recently had a ‘bad break-up’, and she began talking to Swaysland. This angered Jones to the point of confronting and assaulting WayslandÂ on Feb. 22. Bell told police she had been in a relationship with Jones that ended badly and that Jones had previously threatened to fight Swaysland. Jones told Bell he didn’t like her talking to any guys, notably Swaysland.

Where does Jones come off with this attitude ?? Â I realize there are men with control issues, riddled with insecurities, and a negative self image. But Jones is a guy, raised with the best life had to offer (Robert Jones, dad, played LB for the Dallas Cowboys and St. Louis Rams) playing at a dream school for most Texas high school kids, displaying obvious immaturity issues. Â He’s engaging in petty relationship-type drama that ultimately could result in his dismissal from the Texas football program and facing a felonious assault charge in court.

All over an ex-girlfriend. That’s weak, Mr. Jones.

Brown has since suspended Jones from all football related activities pending the conclusion of the legal action. Jones had been a bright spot for the offense this spring, vying for the #3 spot at wide-out, and Jones was closing in on that slot.

What happens from here, who knows. I will say this, if Jones is found guilty, Brown will have no choice but to dismiss him from the program. In January 2010, Texas wide receiver Dan Buckner was charged with criminal trespassing and resisting arrest, and 24 hours later, after meeting with Brown, he announces he was leaving the Longhorns. The standard has been established.

On the floor, the Men’s basketball team will encounter a new experience for the program. After being shutout of the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1998, UT accepted an invitation to compete in the CBI invitational. They’ll face the University of Houston at Hoffeinez Pavilion on UH’s campus, Wednesday at 8pm.

All this after a two-and-out in the Phillips 66 Big 12 tournament. Texas took down TCU, 70-57, on Wednesday. Julien Lewis led UT with 19 points, including a seven-point spurt with under two minutes in the first half. Myck Kabongo chipped in 16 and six assists.:

Then the purple-clad monsters from Manhattan, Kansas showed up, and did what they normally do to Texas. Beat them.

The Kansas State Wildcats ran through Texas, 66-49, the Big-12 quarterfinals, as Wildcats’ All-Big 12 forward, Rodney McGruder had himself a nice tournament, pouring in a game-high 24 points, including eight points during a critical 11-0 run early in the second half for K-State.

The basketball season is almost over Longhorns fans. Only a little more of Rick Barnes’ worst season in 14 years to endure. And with Demarcus Croaker and Julius Randle’s pending commitment decisions looming, there is a nice future foundation setup for the Men’s hoops program.

Meanwhile, over at the Disch, the baseball team went 2-2 last week. And the season’s theme stays true.

Great pitching. And that’s about it.

UT went to 6-2 on one-run games this year, after dropping two of three from Texas Tech this weekend.

The Horns lost, 1-0 to the Red Raiders on Friday, only their second one-run loss this season. UT won, 2-1 on Jacob Felts walk-off double in the ninth on Saturday behind Dillon Peters best outing as a Longhorn. Eight strong, and gave up one run, just another gem by the UT pitching staff. They turned around Sunday and lost the rubber match, 4-2. It was the first time since 2002, Texas has lost a series to Tech and first since 2001 that the Red Raiders took a series in Austin.

Texas pitching continues to keep this team afloat. A Big-12 leading 2.51 ERA is nothing new in Austin. But the timely hitting has to accomplish more with the absence of a true power-hitting presence. They collected 21 hits in 94 at-bats during the three-game stretch with Tech. That’s a .223 average. That wont cut it.

Ultimately, if Texas gives up three or more runs, they lose 75% of the time. That’s beyond bad. I realize in Augie Garrido’s system, the hitting approach is ‘small-ball’ orieneted. But at what cost do hitters bail on the approach, and start swinging naturally. That’s the big question.

Some good news on the recruiting front for the football team, when the Rivals/Under Armour regional camps were held in Houston and Dallas this weekend. In DFW, Texas commit and Fort Worth All-Saints lineman, Demetrius Knox won the Best O-Line MVP in the field. Nice get for the future Longhorns tackle, rated as the #1 OL in Texas (#17 overall) on the Horn Sports 50 for 2014.

Quote of the week :Â ” (Oral Roberts) stuck us in the mouth (in the eighth inning) and I felt like last year’s team, we might have just caved in, but this year’s team, we just said `so what’…here is our chance to go out there and hit them in the mouth. It’s how we deal with adversity and come back from it.” -Â Texas pitcher Parker FrenchÂ on UT’s comeback versus Oral Roberts

We appreciate you spending your Monday morning with us, hope you have a great week !!! Â Hook ‘Em Horns !!!