Tennessee suspends Lady Vols guard Ruby Whitehorn following arrest on felony charges

Tennessee suspended guard Ruby Whitehorn following an arrest on felony charges, the school said in a statement to the AP Thursday. She is facing charges of domestic assault and domestic battery.

Whitehorn was arrested Aug. 8 after an alleged altercation outside a woman’s residence. Reports said Whitehorn kicked in both the front door and a bedroom door at the residence.

The Lady Vols guard also reportedly told officers the woman told her phone and passport, and locked the door after telling them she was getting some property back. She is expected to plead not guilty at a preliminary hearing Sept. 5 in Knox County court, her attorney Gregory P. Isaacs said in a statement last week.

Isaacs also said the allegations are “not accurate” and did not line up with eyewitness accounts. He also said Whitehorn hopes to have a resolution in the “near future.”

“Our firm’s investigation has also revealed that the factual allegations contained in the warrants are not accurate and are contradicted by eyewitness accounts,” Isaacs said, via the AP. “Ruby Whitehorn looks forward to having this matter resolved in the very near future.”

According to Knox News, an incident report said neither Whitehorn nor the woman said they were injured as a result of the alleged incident. The report also said the woman provided cell phone video that appeared to show Whitehorn entering the house and fighting with her in the bedroom. Officers said they saw a shattered mirror in the bedroom, and the woman said that happened as a result of the altercation.

Ruby Whitehorn is preparing for her fourth season of college basketball and second at Tennessee after starting her career at Clemson. Last year, she appeared in 34 games – including 28 starts – as she averaged 11.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists as a key part of the Lady Vols’ roster in Kim Caldwell’s first season as head coach.

In her second season at Clemson in 2023-24, Whitehorn averaged a career-high 12.3 points to go with 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists. She also shot 46.4% from the field that year.

Tennessee went 24-10 last year and 8-8 in SEC play after Caldwell took over for Kellie Harper. The Lady Vols rattled off a run to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament, where they fell to No. 1 seed Texas in Regional 3 in Birmingham. The program started practice this week.