'Christ-like image of Coach Fulmer causing controversy on [the University of Tennesse Knoxville] campus


The people behind it say it was meant to show how seriously Knoxville takes UT football, and that it wasn't meant to offend.

But it did offend some.

The cover of the football preview section of UT's student newspaper, The Daily Beacon, shows Coach Philip Fulmer wearing a crown of thorns, and carrying a giant "T" that resembles a cross.
Scott Thurmon, editor in chief of The Daily Beacon, says "It was not our intent to offend anyone and when we conceived it, we never thought it would stir up such controversy."

Thurmon says the staff was behind schedule, and the cover was pushed through without him seeing it.

Thurmon says, "I believe the conception was to make a comment on the seriousness of which Knoxville takes football. When we saw it in the paper it looked a bit more heavy handed."

Thurmon says the image is by no means a statement about how they feel about Fulmer. He adds the cover was not a mistake, but in the end it has been a lesson in the power and permanence of the press.'