One of four former Vanderbilt University football players accused of raping a student in a campus dormitory last year testified Wednesday that athletics officials told him he would lose his scholarship if he didn't cooperate with police investigating the case, so he felt he had no choice.
Brandon Vandenburg said former Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin and Kevin Colon, assistant athletic director, said his scholarship would be in jeopardy if he didn't cooperate. Vandenburg said police officers who questioned him also told him he would lose the scholarship if he didn't cooperate.
"I felt I was going to lose everything I worked so hard for," Vandenburg said at a hearing to consider motions before his trial. The hearing will continue Thursday.
Colon testified later that Vandenburg, who was dismissed from the team, wasn't intimidated and his scholarship wasn't threatened.
Vandenburg and fellow defendant, Corey Batey, are seeking to have the court suppress statements made to police and campus officials. Their rape trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 3.
