Activist/survivor Brenda Tracy says Florida Gators football coach Dan Mullen has done a poor job handling the off-field incidents when it comes to violence against women

Coach Dan Mullen says the University of Florida does “a lot” when it comes to educating its players on how to treat women. Mullen insists he’s a “big anti-violence against women person.”

Both of those are true, but Mullen’s message is not getting across in Gainesville.

Reports that sophomore defensive back John Huggins was accused of choking a tutor in October, and allowed back on the team, is the fifth time in the last year a member of the Florida football program has been accused of violence or threatening violence against a woman, including an assistant director of player personnel, who was fired.

Mullen hired or recruited four of them. That, combined with Mullen’s past, has activist/survivor Brenda Tracy questioning how serious Mullen and the university takes these allegations.

"Dan Mullen obviously does not get it," Tracy said. "He says he takes these issues seriously but he doesn’t. Mullen has done a poor job. This obviously is a leadership issue, possibly a recruiting issue. These are some pretty violent offenders."

Tracy, 45, was gang raped by four men in 1998, two who were football players at Oregon State. She travels the country speaking at universities — including more than 90 football teams since 2016 — about behaviors and attitudes toward women. She recently spoke at the University of Miami and will be at the University of South Florida on Tuesday.

Tracy, who spoke at Florida one time prior to Mullen being hired, believes Mullen is part of a deeper problem with the Gators football program.

"That’s a huge cultural issue," she said. "Those are some major problems going on with that program. And those are just cases we know about."

Mullen defended his handling of Huggins, who missed five games after the incident. Huggins returned and was part of the team in the spring but has not been with the program during camp because of a separate issue, Mullen said. According to the police report obtained by several outlets, a 19-year-old student accused Huggins of choking her during a tutoring session in October. Huggins was upset because the tutor took his phone to make sure he would stay for the entire session. Huggins pulled her hair during an earlier tutoring session. She did not pursue a criminal case.

Mullen was asked about the incident on Monday and said, "that’s all been handled."

When informed about the multiple threats or violence against women in his program, Mullen said: "We do a lot you know. I mean how many of them are actually charged?"

Tracy was stunned by the nonchalance of Mullen’s comments.

"His comments … there’s been no charges? That’s the level he needs to discipline his players or make it a meaningful discipline is a criminal charge or a conviction?" Tracy said. "That’s what the bar is on his team? That’s ridiculous."

Mullen later responded to being asked if Huggins missing five games last season had anything to do with the October incident by saying in part, "I mean, he was a true freshman, so he only was going to play in some games anyway for us."

Recruit Jalon Jones was suspended before leaving the program after he was accused of sexual battery by two different women on the same evening in April. Also in April, then-assistant director of player personnel Otis Yelverton was arrested after threatening to blow up his girlfriend’s car. The case was dropped in June because of insufficient evidence. Yelverton, who Mullen brought with him from Mississippi State, was fired.

The next month, Brian Edwards was arrested on a complaint that he allegedly grabbed his girlfriend by the neck during a fight. That case was dropped because of insufficient evidence. Edwards was suspended before transferring.

A year ago, freshman Justin Watkins was accused of striking and choking his girlfriend. Watkins transferred.

Three of the incidents include players allegedly "choking" or grabbing a woman by the neck, which, to Tracy, is a serious red flag.

"A man placing his hand on a woman’s throat is very aggressive and violent," she said. "That person is placing their hand on the trachea, the wind pipe of a person, which can result in death in a couple of minutes.

"Those are people who are a danger and a threat to the campus. Period. There’s got to be a zero tolerance for a man aggressively and violently placing his hands on a women’s throat."

Tracy says it’s "strangulation, not choking."

Mullen’s past cannot be ignored when it comes to disciplinary issues. He was the coach at Mississippi State when defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons was suspended for one game after a video showed him punching a woman on the ground. The incident occurred about a month after the five-star recruit signed in 2016. Simmons finished his career at Mississippi State and was taken 19th overall in the most recent NFL draft by Tennessee.

Florida had more than 30 arrests during Urban Meyer’s tenure at Florida. Mullen was Meyer’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks’ coach for four of those seasons.

Mullen repeatedly said Monday the "hardest situation" for a coach involves sexual assault allegations.

"You get into a he said, she said situation," he said. "There’s two different stories, I guess, that are being reported.

"Obviously, we are very anti-violence against women, but as you try to investigate the situations, as you try to educate guys on what happens. The great thing is educating on how to make good decisions. Everything gets back to decision making, how can I make good decisions in life. If they are learning how to make good decisions and how to put yourself in good situations, that’s how we spend all our time educating our guys on those things — and trying to educate the team as a whole."

tom_dangelo@pbpost.com

@tomdangelo44