Florida QB Treon Harris under investigation for sexual battery, suspended indefinitely

By Adam Silverstein
October 6, 2014

Updated at 2:35 p.m.

Florida Gators freshman quarterback Treon Harris is currently under investigation for a possible felony charge of sexual battery and has subsequently been suspended indefinitely from the program.

Though no details have been made available at this time, the University of Florida Police Department’s Crime Log lists a sexual battery incident as having been reported on campus at the Springs Residential Complex early Monday morning at 12:49 a.m. The Independent Florida Alligator‘s Jordan McPherson confirmed with the UFPD that the aforementioned incident is the one involving Harris.

Harris has neither been arrested nor charged with a crime at this time and “a source familiar with the situation” told Florida Today‘s David Jones that “evidence was ‘shaky at best'” with it being a “‘he said, she said’ situation.”

Florida sent out he following official statement at 1 p.m. on Monday:

University of Florida student athlete Treon Harris is accused of sexually assaulting a female student early Sunday morning in a residence hall on the UF campus.

The University of Florida Police Department is investigating the incident, and UFPD has brought in the Gainesville Police Department to assist with collection and analysis of forensic evidence.

The investigation is ongoing and we do not have an update regarding any charges at this time.

The University of Florida and the University Athletic Association are cooperating fully. …

UAA has suspended Treon Harris from all team activities.

“We have no tolerance for sexual assault on our campus,” UF President Bernie Machen said. “The university is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for every member of the UF community. We must strive to protect all of our students from sexual harassment and assault, and do everything in our power to promote a safe learning environment.”

Harris has retained Gainesville, Florida, attorney Huntley Johnson. “We are cooperating with the investigation,” Johnson told the Orlando Sentinel‘s Mike Bianchi. “He has not been arrested, and I don’t expect him to be.”


Jones reports that “the investigation will take several weeks.”

The investigation led the Gators to cancel its weekly Monday afternoon press conference with head coach Will Muschamp.

Harris, who took over for redshirt junior quarterback Jeff Driskel on Saturday, led Florida to a 10-9 win over the Tennessee Volunteers with the Gators scoring 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

He was expected to at least split quarterbacking duties with Driskel in this Saturday evening’s game at home against the LSU Tigers, though Muschamp made no such pronouncement during his post-game press conference on Saturday.

Muschamp has cleaned up the Florida football program since taking over in January 2011. Only one UF player has been arrested in the last 15 months – freshman cornerback Jalen Tabor (misdemeanor marijuana possession).

The Orlando Sentinel‘s Edgar Thompson first reported the specifics of Harris’s incident.

74 Comments

  1. Ryan D says:

    Hmmm ironic that this would come out after he actually did something significant on the field. Seems like it wont be much to this though. Reinstatement! Think Driskel said something? Haha just kidding.

    • Mr2Bits says:

      Come out after he did something….if there is a way for GPD to screw the UF football team they will.

      • Ryan D says:

        I posted this before they actually stated when and what occurred. But you are right. GPD is nuts!

      • 305Gator says:

        Surely you cant be serious, this has nothing to do with the GPD messing with the football program. This is serious and goes beyond football. Come on man, no matter who commits a crime they must be held accountable, football be dammed.

        • Ryan D says:

          University Police handed it over to GPD. But hopefully it was a misunderstanding. Crime is a crime. Recently, Gators have been doing a good job staying out of trouble.

        • Dave Massey says:

          Unless your name is Jameis Winston and you go to half ass u.

          I’ll wait for the entire story to come out before I decide if it was handled right. But I give Muschamp credit for suspending him right away and putting real life issues in front of football. Jimbo Fisher and Urban Meyer never had the balls to do it this way.

      • Celinda says:

        How ridiculous it is to blame everyone but the person who did this!! Stand up for the victim.

        • Ken (CA) says:

          Stand up for the victim? How about we all take a step back and wait for the facts to come back in general. Until more is known jumping to conclusions either way is irresponsible. Look what happened in St. Louis because so many “Stood up for the victim” before even knowing what the full story was.

          Indefinite suspension until all of the facts come out is absolutely the way to go. If convicted boot him from team, if exonerated then let him back. Until then let the investigation play out and the facts be revealed appropriately.

        • MSmith1411 says:

          I will gladly stand with the victim if her claim happens to be legitimate. Innocent until proven guilty, and if this is playing out according to what is being said then Harris would be the victim in this matter. Not the accuser.

          • Oldflyer says:

            Play out according to what is being said? Harris is the victim? Wow!

            Already the girl is under suspicion for daring to accuse a football player. What a world.

            Anyone who doesn’t have his head up his rectum would understand how hard it is for a girl to come forward with an accusation like this, especially against a big time athlete. Tell me Sonny, what does she gain? Is she going to collect money from this freshman? Is she going to achieve fame?

            Yeah, let it play out. That works both ways.

            • Ken (CA) says:

              Actually she can collect against future earnings, or depending on the circumstances she can collect against the UAA, the University, the coaching staff, depending on what rules were in effect, whether they were being appropriately enforced, etc.

              Fame can also be motivation, so yes both of your “wild theories” actually have merit and a lot more has been done on a lot less. It could be anything as simple as jealousy, revenge, any other emotional components. It could be someone mentally unstable. There are many, many possibilities as to what it “could be. It could also be a despicable act of sexual battery among other heinous things.

              The point is, none of us simply know. Even the police don’t yet know all the facts, they say they expect the investigation will take several weeks.

              Let’s flip your argument around. Just because someone is a football player, are they automatically guilty until proven innocent?

              Yet you are immediately jumping to her side and convicting him. Yes, it can take enormous courage to come forth with something like this. It can also take incredible ego and wanting the 15 minutes of fame that comes with the spotlight of someone who is amazingly just become the most talked about person on campus.

              Again, I am not making any judgment or saying any of the above happened, I am simply positing different scenarios, any of which could be true, WE SIMPLY DON’T KNOW.

              Hence my previous comment, how about we wait until the facts come out before we leap to any conclusions. It is a complete disservice to both party to leap to judgment knowing as little as is publicly known at this point.

            • MSmith1411 says:

              I said if the victims claims are legitimate then I would stand with her but if she is simply doing this out of spite or some other unforeseen reason, then her “cry wolf” only hurts other future victims. Your comment pretty much says it all that you already reserve your judgement from the first shot fired. I was responding to someone who already thinks he is guilty before anything has come about in the investigation. “Innocent until proven guilty” is the right of EVERY US CITIZEN, football player or not. I want due diligence. The school did that by taking action against Harris in light of this girls claims to protect its beliefs and name. Now, the UFPD and GPD are doing theirs to either lock up a predator or clear his name of any wrong doing. I hope you don’t make decisions that affect people’s lives on a day to day basis. Let all the facts come out first before you point fingers at people.

    • Oldflyer says:

      What a perfectly stupid comment

  2. Razzlegator says:

    So much for plan B. Our boys better figure out how to play ‘harder’ for Driskel. Or maybe they should play ‘harder’ for the name on the side of their helmets.

    • 305Gator says:

      So much for plan B indeed. However it is Driskel who needs to figure out how he can play better. It may be too much to ask from him though he is what he is.

      • Ken (CA) says:

        And plan C has back spasms…ugh….

      • Razzlegator says:

        I get it. Driskel sucks. And that sucks for you because his sucky ass is gonna start Saturday, AND play the whole game.

        • Tractorr says:

          Not if he gets hurt. Then we get a nice big serving of Skyler, or a guy who hasn’t practiced the last two weeks because of back spasms.

          • Michael Jones says:

            Skyler is underrated. That tends to happen with QB’s: they’re either the greatest to ever play the game or the worst to ever play the game. . and we’re way too quick to arrive at either conclusion. He might not be the charismatic “it factor” (you talk about a tired cliche) QB that everyone wants, but we can win with Skyler.

        • 305Gator says:

          Razzle, Driskel does suck, the evidence is in plain view. It sucks for me cause he’s going to start? I’m just an average fan, I guess it does suck for me too since I’m tired of our pathetic offense and I blame Driskel for it.
          So what’s your point. Are you a Driskel fan? Are you happy he gets to start and play the whole game? What’s your angle? I hope Driskel does well since he will start, i hope he plays like he did in the second half of the UK game. I fear he will play like he did in the Bama and UT games. Hope you are right and that your boy Driskel will shred LSU and win the game for us.

          Michael Jones, I don’t know about Skyler man. Two true freshmen show up and immediately they are ahead of him in the depth chart even though he has game time experience? Not good.

          • Michael Jones says:

            I understand your points. Skyler is not flashy and has a bit of an unorthodox delivery. But if you watch him closely, he tends to make fairly quick and decent decisions and he throws an accurate, catchable ball. He’s not as athletic as the other 3 but he can move around a little.

            Not starting a “Skyler for Heisman” campaign but I like him O.K. He can look better with a really good OC calling plays to his strengths. Roper is supposed to be that guy.

          • Razzlegator says:

            I’m a fan of the name on the side of the helmet, not the name on the back of a jersey. Pretty simple really. I’m not going to get more indignant about the sorry state of affairs that is Gator football just because that’s the game you want to play.

  3. SW FL Joe says:

    Calling Huntley Johnson. You had a quiet summer but now it’s time to go to work.

  4. Dave Massey says:

    Unbelievable, I’m speechless.

  5. Daniel M. says:

    Adam, by no means am I saying he should get the start, but is Grier being redshirted?

  6. Mr2Bits says:

    Edgar Thompson ‏@osgators 44s44 seconds ago UFPD police spokesperson confirms Treon Harris being investigated for sexual battery early Sunday morning….lovely.

  7. cline says:

    disappointing on so many levels.

  8. John S says:

    This is why we can’t have nice things.

  9. 1974Gator says:

    Will Grier…paging Will Grier. Report to the Gator offensive strategy war room for a briefing!

  10. GatorGrad98 says:

    “There are no details linking Harris or any other student to the incident.” There is definitely much more to this story that I am sure will come out today, you don’t suspend a kid unless you have something tangible. How incredibly disappointing… I was excited following the game this weekend, now I’m just sad & disappointed.

    • JWJ says:

      In a post-Ray Rice world, I am not so sure that’s true anymore. I am making no judgments and know nothing about the allegations (and if they’re true, I will be the first to argue throwing him off the team, expelling him from UF and prosecuting him), but I think we’re in a react-first/ask-questions-later world now. Schools/teams can not afford the bad press if they do not take immediate action as soon as an allegation surfaces–due process, be damned.

  11. W2 says:

    Damn Damn Damn. This can’t be happening.

  12. Sam Andreu says:

    Well, this little shit obviously brings attention to the program. Now, maybe we can win with bad guys. I.e. Jamies/Johnny Football/Bill Clinton.

    If they suspend him, can we go get Jeff Driskel in some shit so he is either settled from nerves or disqualified:)

  13. Michael Jones says:

    First of all, I hope that a young lady did not get raped. Secondly, I also hope that Treon is innocent (because there could be ID issues, they do not necessarily go hand-in-hand).

    Two young lives potentially got devastated early Sunday morning so I think that I’ll save my football-related comments for Adam’s next piece. There’s more important stuff going on here than football.

  14. k-money says:

    Better call saul!

  15. USA says:

    FIRE WILL MUSCHAMP!! HE HAS BROUGHT NOTHING BUT UNHAPPINESS TO THIS PROGRAM EVERY SINCE THE LUCKY DAY HE GOT HIRED! AND I KNOW HE DIDN’T SEXUALLY ASSAULT ANYONE BUT AFTER A HEAD COACH CONSISTENTLY SETS NEGATIVE RECORDS IN THE PROGRAM WHY SHOULD HE KEEP A JOB! WITH HIM AS THE LEAD MAN OF OUR FOOTBALL PROGRAM THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY PEACE OF MIND AS A GATOR FAN. EVEN WHEN HE SQUEEZES OUT A WIN IT FEELS LIKE A LOSS. TIRED OF ALL THE NEGATIVE THINGS THAT CONSISTENTLY PLAQUES OUR PROGRAM WITH HIM AT THE HELM. SMH

    • 5wideU says:

      Get a life … this has nothing to do with Muschamp. He likely won’t be around after the FSU game but act with some class until then although that may be asking too much for you to do that for a whole 7 weeks.

    • SW FL Joe says:

      There are 127 other D-1 programs you can go be a fan of.

    • Oldflyer says:

      Did your Mother drop you on your head? Or did you reach this state all on your own?

  16. g8ter27 says:

    Lets bring in Willie Meggs as special prosecutor.

  17. Dr Leo Spaceman says:

    ^”USA” is a terrible person

  18. Lee says:

    And this is why freshman do not play quarterback at top tier programs.
    They are too inexperianced and usually too stupid to handle the spotlight that comes with position.

    Innocent or guilty is not the only consideration here. Think of how distracted he has already made his team, they have as much as admitted that they do not play as hard when Driskell is on the field. Are we to believe they will do a 180 and rally behind Jeff?

    Thank you to all the former players who publicly chose to add gas to the quaterback contraversy fire with their comments and tweets. Who are you going to throw under the bus next?

  19. Mike The Red says:

    Oh crud.

  20. Mike The Red says:

    I hope that Muschamp’s wife had a beer waiting for him when he got home.

    • Gatorgrad79 says:

      Nope, she was sitting in front of me until halftime and never returned afterwards which didn’t surprise me given all the harsh comments from people around us who did not know who she was….now SHE may have gone home and had a drink or two….

  21. Joe says:

    He could be innocent, he could be guilty. Sexual assault can refer to many sexually related crimes, not just rape. This isn’t good but until the facts are revealed everyone will just have to be patient.

  22. DGlockUF says:

    Having been at the game, suffering through 3 quarters of poor offensive execution, repeatedly hearing “rocky top” & “3rd down for what”, then watching Treon come in a lead us to victory then revel in extreme happiness post game… I can’t tell you how disappointing this is.

    If Treon is guilty of this battery, he does not deserve to wear the O & B.

  23. USA says:

    -Dr Leo Spaceman

    And you’re probably some nerd office working guy who’ve never played any sport and run your mouth while hiding behind a computer screen. Get a life man! I’m a real Gator fan and I speak that truth. What has Muschamp accomplished as the head coach of UF ? Since you’re such a great person answer that ?

    • Michael J. says:

      What are the qualifications to be a “real Gator fan?”

    • Ken (CA) says:

      Just curious, but what exactly does WM competency as a head coach have to do with anything in this article? Plenty of articles to vent on as we have been doing, this article is a lot more serious than a football game or the ability of someone to coach a team to victory. It is completely out of place and inappropriate attempt to hijack the topic.

      That is why you are getting such negative feedback, and you lash back very defensively when you are the one out of place to begin with. Take a chill pill

  24. N. Stalker says:

    Really!! I hope this is not true. But please don’t but Driskel back in charge. I think Grier would be better. Lucky number 7. I mean any body but Diskel. Couldn’t do any worse. Sorry. D. But you should be so much better. Muschamp will eventually run out of excuses.

    • Michael J. says:

      It would be a mistake to put Grier in. He’s a player that has been expecting to redshirt, which makes a big difference in how much effort you are making for being ready to play. He has also not even been able to practice recently, which places him even farther behind. Top that off with the fact that he fell behind Harris, despite being an early enrollee, should give you a clue that he would be a disaster on the field. Yes, I realize that Driskel is a disaster as well, but I think it’s extremely unlikely that Grier would do any better. You can easily ruin a quarterback by throwing him into the fire before he’s ready to play. Maybe that’s the excuse for why Driskel sucks, he played way too early and was ruined. You need to think of the future, and Grier is the only quarterback on campus that gives any hope for the future if Harris is gone. If you have a good quarterback, you have a chance. Let’s not ruin the only guy on campus that might become a good quarterback for the sake of a year that might be bad anyway. Beating Kentucky and Tennessee doesn’t equate to 2014 being a special year. By the way, what’s the over/under for Florida/LSU? It seems that the under would be a lock if it’s even ten points. Maybe the first one to three wins.

    • 305Gator says:

      Relax my man, I am the first to admit that Driskel sucks and that I’m done with him. But right now he has to be our starter. We just have to close our eyes when he attempts a pass and pray.

  25. Mr2Bits says:

    Edit:first paragraph says he springs complex and should be “the”

  26. Michael Jones says:

    A few weeks ago everybody was praising Driskel for his game-winning performance against UK. Now he can’t walk and chew gum at the same time? Breathe, people. . . breathe.

    • gatorboi352 says:

      I wouldn’t go so far to say people were praising him. Dude absolutely stunk it up (again) for large portions of that game.

      Plus, his numbers over the last 2 games are something like 21 for 50 150yds 3 total TDs and 5 INTs. As a 4th year junior. In the system that was supposed to be tailor made for his skill set.

      Dude simply doesn’t have “it” for whatever reason. With Treon there was at least hope. With Driskel, there’s “oh no, what did he do now?”

    • ntcrze says:

      No one was praising praising Jeff Driskel after the Kentucky game. If he had been able to hit the side of a barn, UF would have demolished Kentucky. The deep pass is no longer part of the game plan because Driskel can’t make the throw. Do you realize how much that restricts Florida’s offense? Teams can crowd the line of scrimmage because they don’t need to worry about someone getting behind them, driskel will probably not see them and even if he does he can’t throw an accurate pass.

  27. Fatback says:

    Winston Churchhill said the best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter. It seems the Internet has cut down that timeframe.

    Let the investigators investigate and let the coaches coach… go hug your kids and root like hell for whoever is wearing orange and blue on Saturday.

    Let the investigators investigate, will must champ is not the devil, it is just a game

    • Dave Massey says:

      Ah, a voice of reason.

      • ntcrze says:

        There’s nothing reasonable about the Florida Gators. They are a bad soap opera right now. Now they are playing a team, LSU, that got seal clubbed in their last two games, and are an underdog at home. Now Driskel has become “The Cat Came Back.” It appears that the fates have determined to have both him and Muschamp at the wheel like the end of “Thelma and Louise.” They didn’t press hard enough on the pedal last week, but I have faith that they will do so this week. The latest plot lines that left us hanging…Will the rest of the team still love Jeff. will a receiver catch the ball, can D.J. Humpries block anyone, will Florida score…ah the plot thickens.

        • Dave Massey says:

          I was responding to Fatback’s comment.

          This was a post about Harris and an accusation of sexual assault.

          You and a lot of other people seem to want to turn it into a bash session on the Gators, Muschamp, and Driskel. Why don’t you go root for a fine team like half ass u that doesn’t care about their quarterback getting accused of rape or the victim or for that matter any crime or act he commits. You ought to check out the fraud that their new president is and how he got the job, that kind of garbage at a state university is something you should get upset about, not a football team. They are winning, right now anyways. Feel free to jump out of the convertible anytime.

          You are the unreasonable one.

    • Michael Jones says:

      Love Winston Churchill. Anybody who quotes him has a presumption of instant credibility with me. Never heard that quotation but it’s a good one.

      Great comment. Perspective. We need to be reminded from time-to-time.

    • mjGator says:

      You are correct, Muschamp isn’t the devil, but he is overwhelmed and an embarrassment to the program. He acts like a crazed maniac on the sidelines, makes classless comments post-game, doesn’t seem to be managing the recruiting very well, has a terrible record at UF, seemingly has lost control of the team, and perhaps the most telling thing I’ve witnessed is the poor game-day coaching. We are not a well-coached team and our program has lost the respect of the football world. When has UF ever been left out of the top 25 with one loss, when there are 15 other one-loss teams and a 2 loss Stanford team at #25? We lost to Bama, and everyone in the country seems to recognize that this is a sinking ship.

      • Dave Massey says:

        What does this have to do with Treon Harris being investigated and suspended?

        Talk about classless comments, about as classy as UT and the ENTIRE stadium chanting f*** you florida, go find another team to root for if you hate the Gators so much.

        • mjGator says:

          Dave, relax, I was replying to Fatback’s comment that Muschamp isn’t the devil. He isn’t, but you can’t deny (well, maybe you can) where this program is under his leadership and coaching. As far as classless comments, if the post-game comments were Muschamp’s reaction to a bunch of students chanting in the stands then I think he needs to learn some self control and have a little more class than that. Our head football coach shouldn’t sink to the level of a bunch of upset students. I am a lifelong Gator and a UF Alum. I don’t hate the Gators. What I do hate is when I see the head of our football program acting like an over-emotional freshman on national television after squeaking out a 1 point win over Tenn. Did you happen to see Hugh Freeze’s comments after beating BAMA? Did you see Mullen’s post-game comments? Class in victory and defeat is demonstrative of character. I don’t see that in Will, Sorry.

          I don’t anticipate any articles being posted on here that are critical of Muschamp, so should we not entertain this discussion since you perceive it to be off topic from the original article?

          • Dave Massey says:

            To mjGator,

            We’re good, brother Gator. I also am a life long Gator fan. I remember listening to the Gators on the radio as a youngster and hearing about the ‘super sophs’ in Reaves, Alvarez, Durrance, etc.

            I am not happy where the program is right now but I believe that Adam has posted plenty of articles/comments that are critical of Muschamp. If you think Florida’s situation is bad you should check out this article on half ass u, that is if Adam doesn’t edit it out, http://on.flatoday.com/1sz1cLJ

            I just don’t think that this particular post is the place to debate this situation. This article isn’t about football. Let’s take it to a different post is all I am asking.

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