Since the nature of sophomore wide receiver Antonio Callaway and former UF quarterback Treon Harris’ suspensions were revealed Friday in an ESPN report, the Florida football program has found itself under the microscope of the national media.
When the university’s controversial decision to have attorney Jake Schickel, a UF booster, handle Callaway’s student conduct code hearing last Friday was brought to attention, it had many questioning the ethical conflict of such a matter.
Some more information about the situation came to light Monday, with Florida state attorney William Cervone saying that there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue criminal charges against Callaway after a UF student alleged that he and Harris committed sexual assault. Callaway and Harris' accuser boycotted last Friday's hearing because of the university's decision to appoint Schickel to it.
When asked Monday following UF’s practice whether the Callaway situation has impacted the image of the program, Florida head coach Jim McElwain said, “obviously I’m not happy about any of it.”
“And yet at the same time, the way it’s been handled has been handled very well,” McElwain continued. “The impact, I guess we’ll see down the road on that. As we’ve talked a lot, we’ve got choices, right? And yet, we’ll see. I haven’t been updated on anything new or where it’s at. But we’ll fight through it.
“One thing I would say is we’ve got a lot of really good guys, a lot of really good guys. Good people who do a lot of great things for this community, this university and this school that don’t get celebrated as well. And yet, I understand that piece of it. We’ll see where it goes as we move forward.”
Callaway has been suspended since late January, but his suspension was modified in June to where he could attend classes at UF, use Florida’s football facilities and practice with the team. He has participated in the Gators’ fall practices since camp started last Thursday but is not fully reinstated to the team just yet.
The results of Callaway’s Title IX hearing from last Friday will be announced at a later date.
“At the same time, you can’t jump to conclusions either. I don’t think any of us really know, right?” McElwain said. “When we were made aware of whatever it was, immediate action was taken. We don’t have, we’re going by what we’re given, which is whatever is going on and whatever it is. Somebody will tell me in the end.
“It's one of those deals, there is really nothing to handle until something happens. In that case we will find out when that time comes.”
McElwain was then asked about how Callaway’s transition back to working with the team has been since his suspension was modified.
“When you are part of an organization, sometimes families is an overused term, what does that mean. These guys are really close and they are there for support,” McElwain said. “You never doubt how hard he plays and goes hard in practices, and he is one of those guys that loves to play the game. You kind of wish from a football standpoint that you have a lot of guys that just love the game, love to practice and the competition. But I haven't noticed really anything different from that standpoint.”
