SHARE Tennessee defensive back Malik Foreman (13) celebrates after making an interception against Northwestern during the first half of the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. on Friday, Jan. 1, 2016. (ADAM LAU/NEWS SENTINEL)

By Bob Fowler of the Knoxville News Sentinel

CLINTON — The father of a starting football player at the University of Tennessee, hired as Anderson County's new purchasing agent, will keep that job after explaining a battery charge he incurred after UT's lopsided victory in the Jan. 1 Outback Bowl.

Members of the Anderson County Finance Committee, who hired Tony Foreman, took no action after hearing Foreman's side of the story, and he starts his new job next month.

Foreman, father of Malik Foreman, a defensive back for the Vols, was arrested on a battery charge after a heated verbal exchange with Northwestern fans in a Tampa, Fla., hotel following the game. UT won, 45-6.

"The comments that were made about my son and about the football team, it just struck me the wrong way," Foreman said. "No one is more disappointed about this than myself."

He said he was shocked when he was later arrested. He said he was then advised by his attorney to enter a no-contest charge to the misdemeanor.

Foreman denied having any physical contact with Northwestern fans and said the prosecutor in that case told him his accusers were "mentally challenged."

Anderson County Human Resources Director Russell Bearden said the issue surfaced after a background check of Foreman, and the Finance Committee wanted to hear his account of the incident.

Bearden said after Thursday's meeting that he had researched Florida criminal law and found out a battery accusation can be leveled even if there's been no physical contact.

"It's unfortunate I have to put myself and this committee in this position," Tony Foreman told committee members. "I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick," he later added.

He said the misdemeanor charge can later be expunged, or removed from his record.

Foreman was hired by the committee earlier this month to replace Pam Cotham, who resigned to take a job in Knox County following the County Commission's decision to change its financial management system. That change was strongly opposed by Mayor Terry Frank, who previously chaired the budget committee.

"It is unfortunate that the mayor's office has tried to make this into a bigger issue than it is," Myron Iwanski, chairman of the finance committee, said of Foreman's battery charge.

Iwanski called Foreman "an excellent fit" for the job. After hearing details of the incident, the committee remains "solidly and unanimously" in support of him, Iwanski said Friday.

Foreman, the former purchasing agent for the Tennessee Eastman Company in Kingsport, will be making what Cotham was paid — $59,670.