Tennessee football coach Phillip Fulmer’s statement released by UT about the subpoena he received Thursday at SEC Media Days:

“I do have to be a little bit careful — a lot more than I’d like to be.

“I was getting out of the car and was tossed a piece of paper that I picked up, stuck it in with a whole bunch of things that I had been reading on my way in from the airport and handed it to Bud Ford to put in his briefcase and forgot about it. I got a bunch of questions (from the media) about a subpoena that I hadn’t seen.

“I wasn’t expecting a subpoena, but maybe every time I go to Birmingham I probably will be expecting a subpoena. As it turns out it’s some sort of subpoena to do something, and I will let the attorneys all handle that. The issue is it’s all crap and they are trying to use the press trying to use a day that’s very special to the Southeastern Conference for players and the coaches.

“Because they can’t win legally, they are trying to play the game in the press. I am more than a little PO’d about any part of that. It’s sad that a few publicity-hunting lawyers in one of our sister states want to keep open a chapter of history that has long since been closed and as far as I’m concerned will stay closed. Obviously this is an effort to distract our football team or distract me in some way. The last time this happened we won the division with two freshman quarterbacks. We won’t be distracted. I had a good conversation with the commissioner about it.

“About being in Birmingham, I wasn’t trying to mislead anybody. I hadn’t looked at anything.”

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