Dan Mullen defends program after some other Gator related to violence against women

UF educate Dan Mullen defended his program’s values after the fourth incident regarding a Gator and violence in opposition to ladies surfaced Monday. Florida sophomore defensive lower back John Huggins turned into accused of choking a lady educate remaining October on the UF campus, in line with data launched via the faculty. Huggins changed into not being charged with against the law. Yet, the incident changed into the first of several at some stage in the ensuing months related to participants of Mullen’s program accused of violent acts towards women.

In the long run, charges have been no longer filed in any of the cases, a point Mullen emphasized when addressing journalists on Tuesday. The incidents, however, drew bad interest to UF all through the offseason and probably played an issue in pinnacle recruit Chris Steele’s choice to depart the program this past spring.

Mullen stated he and his group of workers continually look to assist players in making sound selections and need to have all the facts earlier than identifying how to cope with a given situation.

“We do quite a little education on our crew with that stuff. Obviously, I’m a huge anti-violence against girls character,” said Mullen, who has a spouse, Megan, and two youngsters, inclusive of a daughter, Breelyn. “I’m additionally someone that I really need to have all the facts as I make selections and what happens in special conditions, and that’s one of the toughest deals. Because you want to offer people the possibility to have rights, like all people else in the United States are supposed to. But anyone wants to see ‘what are we doing’ immediately.

We try to gather the facts. We spend quite a little time teaching our guys.

Huggins, one of the group’s breakout gamers for the duration of the spring, has now not practiced with the Gators in view that preseason camp opened July 26. A day after the group staged its first scrimmages for the duration of preseason camp, Mullen said Huggins is not the handiest participant sitting out.

“We had numerous guys omit the scrimmage the day before today for exclusive motives, taking care of different problems, stuff they need to take care of in my view, stuff they need to cope with for me,” Mullen stated. “Nothing that we do not have a first-rate deal with on, on each certainly one of them. Mullen stated Huggins’ absence for the duration of the camp is not associated with an Oct. 1 incident at the Otis Hawkins Center for lecturers.

That’s all been treated,” Mullen stated.

A UF spokesman stated Huggins has now not been at camp because of their “own family problem.

Huggins, a reserve defensive returned and special groups participant closing season, seemed at some point of the 2018 Gators’ first five games. He did not play throughout the five games following the Oct. 1 incident but seemed in UF’s final 3 video games of the season.

Mullen stated a number of the games missed had been punishment for the incident with the coach.

That was a part of it. I imply, he was a real freshman, so he most effective became going to play in a few games besides for us,” Mullen said. “But his punishment became treated when all that passed off.

A lady pupil who tutored Huggins advised UF police the player had placed his fingers around her neck in advance within Oct. 1 during assembly. Huggins had obtained a text message from every other educate telling him he had left in the back of his jacket.

When Huggins retrieved the item, the lady stated she tried to hold onto his phone to make sure he returned for tutoring. She informed police Huggins robotically had left their one-hour periods within 15 mins.

Huggins, the record states, then positioned each arm on her neck in an attempt to choke the educate, who let him have his phone and go away. The woman, age 19 at the time, advised police she nevertheless become capable of breathing at some point of the incident. She did now not have any marks on her neck.

Huggins could return inside mins, as though not anything had taken place, the document states. But he left 5 minutes later, declaring the session become over, the instruct instructed police.

The woman, whose name is redacted from the report, advised her supervisor approximately the incident and met with UFPD; however, she declined to press costs. The document states she was terrified of Huggins and would not meet him for one-on-one tutoring but would be willing to instruct him in a collection.