Clark Lea statement on Kayleb Barnett's dismissal from Vanderbilt football after arrest

Clark Lea said that having to dismiss Kayleb Barnett from the Vanderbilt football team was among his worst days with the program but that it was important to uphold standards and boundaries after Barnett was dismissed following an arrest over the weekend.

“We have clear standards, and we fight for those standards every day,” Lea said Oct. 13. “My worst days in this position are not days where we fall short on the field. My worst days are days when we have to make decisions that eliminate membership in our program. And yet, without boundaries, there’s erosion, there’s flooding. And so to continue to fight for those every single day is critical.

<1 / 22

<2 / 22

<3 / 22

<4 / 22

<5 / 22

<6 / 22

<7 / 22

<8 / 22

<9 / 22

<10 / 22

<11 / 22

<12 / 22

<13 / 22

<14 / 22

<15 / 22

<16 / 22

<17 / 22

<18 / 22

<19 / 22

<20 / 22

<21 / 22

<22 / 22

“Discipline isn’t just something that you bring to the game on Saturday, it’s something you live by.”

Barnett, a wide receiver, was charged with aggravated assault by strangulation, identity theft and use of a false ID after an altercation in downtown Nashville on Oct. 11 after the Commodores (3-3, 0-3 SEC) lost to Ole Miss. Barnett was released from jail on bond but was dismissed from the program.

“What is the action we’re demanding of each other?” Lea said. “What is the level of accountability we’re holding? That is, to your point, in terms of off the field incidences, we want to be proud of how we represent this university and program off the field. That has been made abundantly clear, not just in response to Saturday night, but every day that I’ve had this position. … We want to be positive, contributing members to our national community. Obviously, we want to be vibrant representations of our Vanderbilt community.”

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on X @aria_gerson.