By Jimmy Hyams
Former Lady Vol basketball player Te’a Cooper decided to transfer from Tennessee in part because she faced possible disciplinary action regarding a fight she instigated with teammate Jaime Nared, according to multiple sources.
The fight occurred in a dorm room shortly after the Lady Vols season ended
It was witnessed by several Lady Vols basketball players, the sources said.
Cooper went before the UT student code of conduct board, but the results of that hearing are not known.
A source said Cooper would not have had her scholarship renewed at Tennessee.
Cooper announced May 16 she would leave Tennessee. She later picked SEC rival South Carolina.
The SEC has a rule that can prohibit a player from transferring within the league if the player has a history of questionable behavior.
It is not known if the SEC will make a ruling regarding Cooper since no charges were filed against the redshirt sophomore from Powder Springs, Ga.
UT athletic director John Currie was told by this reporter about the fight between Cooper and Nared but he declined comment.
A Freedom of Information request was made to UT for any incident report from the UT Police Department, but UT spokesperson Karen Simsen said UTPD has no such report.
Cooper will have to sit out a year at South Carolina and have two years of eligibility remaining. Cooper did not play last season due to a torn ACL. As a freshman, she averaged 8.6 points per game, fourth on the team, and 2.1 assists.
She was rated the No. 1 point in the country by at least one recruiting service.
She will join a South Carolina program that just last week hired Lady Vols assistant Jolette Law.
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