Tennessee Head Coaches Hold Rare Joint Press Conference

Rick Barnes says Tennessee coaches feel an unfair picture of the athletic department is being portrayed, two weeks after a group of unidentified women sued the school over its handling of sexual assault complaints made against student-athletes.

The men's basketball coach said Tuesday morning, "We don't want the stereotype out there that there's something there that isn't true."

Barnes and the 15 other Tennessee head coaches representing each of the school's sports programs held a rare joint press conference Tuesday morning, without anyone from the university's administration.

The federal lawsuit filed Feb. 9 in Nashville alleges that the school has violated Title IX regulations and created a "hostile sexual environment" through a policy of indifference toward assaults by student-athletes.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.