Advertisement

Dan Mullen: Team followed school protocol after Jalon Jones was accused of sexual battery

Florida head coach Dan Mullen, center, watches from the sideline during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Missouri Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018, in Gainesville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

Florida coach Dan Mullen said his team immediately followed school protocol in suspending quarterback Jalon Jones when it did.

Jones was accused by two different women of sexual battery on the night of April 6. He played in Florida’s spring game on April 13.

The allegations were revealed publicly at the beginning of May, when Jones put his name in the NCAA’s transfer database to explore a transfer. Mullen said Wednesday that Jones was suspended after the game, though that suspension was never publicly announced.

Jones has not been charged criminally regarding either of the accusations.

"I think reports were coming out to us at that point, but within that situation, as reports get to you, we try to turn them over and follow the university protocol that we have and the campus protocol that we have," Mullen told reporters via Gators Territory. "Which I think we immediately tried to follow the campus protocol with everything that happened. When we got the details of the situation, we immediately with him suspended him from team activities until we could get all of the information that we needed."

Jones’ sexual battery accusations were reportedly a reason why defensive back Chris Steele decided to transfer away from the school.

Steele, a five-star recruit, said he was transferring to Oregon earlier in the week. He was reportedly uncomfortable sharing a room with Jones and wanted to switch rooms sooner than when Florida’s staff wanted him to make the switch.

Steele, who enrolled in January, made the request before Jones was accused of sexual assault and the accusations were reportedly a tipping point in his decision to transfer.

Tow truck driver accuses Lamical Perine of grabbing arm

A tow truck driver has reportedly accused running back Lamical Perine of grabbing his arm as the driver went to tow Perine’s mother’s car on May 7.

Per the Gainesville Sun, the driver made a complaint to police about the incident. However, state attorney Bill Cervone certainly doesn’t seem like he’s ready to prosecute the case without any more information if the driver wants charges to be filed.

Cervone has not made a decision on whether to prosecute. However, he’s not convinced the allegation rises to the level of a battery charge.

“That is bulls---. There’s a certain amount of touching that is not intended to be a criminal matter,” Cervone said. “I could put my arm on your shoulder as I walk past you and technically that’s battery. Some people revel in something that’s not a big deal. It’s a football player and it becomes the end of the world.”

Other members of Florida program in legal trouble

On the seemingly off-chance that Perine faces charges, he would join a growing list of members of the Florida program who are facing criminal charges.

Staff member Otis Yelverton was charged with cyber-stalking his ex-girlfriend in April. Days after Yelverton was charged, defensive back Brian Edwards was charged with a misdemeanor in an alleged incident with his girlfriend.

Mullen called all the incidents “disappointing” on Wednesday

"Obviously when you look at the situation that goes on, to me it's really disappointing for us when we have individuals, whether it's a student-athlete or a staff member, make a decision that really negatively affects them but also shines a little bit of a negative on the program," Mullen said. "To me that's really disappointing, because we spend a lot of time on decision-making with our guys.

"How to make good decisions in life, how to make good social decisions, and how to better themselves in life, so when these type of things happen obviously it's very disappointing for us."

Both Yelverton and Edwards remain with the program. Yelverton is on administrative leave while Edwards has been suspended from all team activities.

– – – – – – –

Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.

More from Yahoo Sports: