The Lady Vols basketball team was met with a preseason roster shakeup after senior guard Ruby Whitehorn was arrested on Aug. 8 for charges of aggravated burglary and domestic assault.
Following Whitehorn’s arrest, Tennessee head coach Kim Caldwell decided to place Whitehorn on an indefinite suspension while the legal matter unfurled.
Caldwell provided an update on her player’s status as practice opened on Tuesday afternoon.
“She is back with the team,” Caldwell said. “It’s not an ideal situation; it’s not a situation that reflects our program the way we want it to.
There’s a strong legacy here, and it did not withhold the name of the brand. It’s not something that helped us at all in recruiting.
We addressed it seriously, and we’re hoping that we can now move on and put our next foot forward.”
Following a resolution in the case, Whitehorn’s charges were lowered to misdemeanors of vandalism and aggravated criminal trespass. The offenses were lowered during her court date on Sept. 5.
Whitehorn will seek the opportunity to have her record expunged after earning judicial diversion, meaning her slate will go clear after 11 months and 29 days of probation. This period includes an anger management program and the absence of further charges.
Whitehorn is back as a full participant with the Lady Vols, a key cog in Caldwell’s fast-paced scheme that would’ve been sorely missed had her actions kept her away from the court during the season.
“It was a difficult process,” Caldwell said. “I think as a coach, it’s really hard that you have to look at the scope of the team. That’s my job as a head coach is to protect the Lady Vol brand, and you have to look at that.”
Whitehorn finished her first full season with Tennessee last year after playing her first two collegiate seasons at Clemson. Last season, the guard posted 11.6 points per game on 46% shooting from the field.
“It’s also my job to coach my players,” Caldwell said. “My players are young people, and they make mistakes. We gave her a penalty that was pretty severe, and if she batted an eye to that or didn’t want to do that or wasn’t going to bend over backwards to make up for what she did to the brand of this program by failing to meet the standard, then we were going to move on.”
