Police investigating alleged rape by two Tennessee football players

Nashville: Tennessee police said they are investigating allegations that two University of Tennessee football players raped a 19-year-old woman at an off-campus apartment complex in Knoxville over the weekend.

Alexander Johnson and Michael Williams were identified in a Knoxville police report on Tuesday as suspects in a "forcible rape" that the woman reported early on Sunday. Williams was accused of sexually assaulting another 19-year-old woman early on Sunday.

The investigating officer interviewed the women at the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where the woman who reported being raped was taken for treatment, the report said.

Johnson, a senior linebacker, and Williams, a sophomore defensive back, were suspended on Monday from all team-related activities. Neither has been charged and they were not identified by the university as suspects.

Tennessee football coach Butch Jones said on Monday he was aware of the allegations and was gathering information.

"Once we have all that appropriate information we will act in a very decisive manner," Jones told a weekly news conference. The university did not comment on Tuesday.

Knoxville police had said on Monday they were investigating rape and sexual assault allegations against two University of Tennessee students.

The woman who reported being raped is a university student and the woman who reported the sexual assault was a student at a university from another state visiting friends, Knoxville police spokesman Darrell DeBusk said on Monday.

DeBusk`s statement said the visiting student had decided not to pursue charges of sexual assault at this time.