Tennessee
Far-right candidate loses Tennessee mayoral election as incumbent decries hate and divisiveness
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Voters in a Tennessee city have firmly rejected a far-right mayoral candidate after she refused to denounce her white supremacist supporters, and the incumbent mayor decried hate and divisiveness as he celebrated his election win.
Gabrielle Hanson lost the race by a wide margin Tuesday, according to unofficial results with all voting centers reporting. The Associated Press did not count votes in this election.
Hanson, an alderman for the city about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Nashville, also faced criticism about her background beyond the white supremacist support, much of which was uncovered in investigations by WTVF-TV. The controversy was amplified in national coverage, including by comedian John Oliver on his HBO show, “Last Week Tonight.”
With tensions already running high, the election was punctuated by the Williamson Herald newspaper revealing on Tuesday that flyers about “so-called ’leftist journalist’ propaganda” had been attached to their building.
The newspaper’s publisher wrote that the organizations responsible also threatened one of the publication’s reporters, its advertisers, and him and his wife. WTVF-TV reporter Phil Williams posted images of flyers that name him and include his photo, and social media posts intended to intimidate him.
“Neo-Nazis don’t have a place in our town,” Derby Jones, the newspaper’s publisher, wrote on Tuesday. “I say enough is enough. We have never seen this level of hate and divisiveness in Franklin. And to be so blatantly targeted and threatened is uncalled for.”
Incumbent Franklin Mayor Ken Moore called his win “a great victory for Franklin, Tennessee.”
“The people of Franklin have spoken and said: ’We’re not going to put up with the divisiveness, hate, anger that we’ve seen during this election,’” Moore told reporters during an election night party Tuesday.
Hanson did not respond to a phone message and email from The Associated Press on Wednesday. She loses her seat as an alderman because of her mayoral run.
Even before her campaign, Hanson drew backlash for saying in a radio appearance that she had a premonition that there would be an active shooter ahead of The Covenant School shooting that killed six people in Nashville, and she shared an unfounded theory about the shooting on the air.
She also drew a rebuke for criticizing Nashville International Airport for sponsoring a Juneteenth event.
The open show of support from white supremacists came during a mayoral candidate forum at Franklin City Hall this month. On the social media platform Telegram, one of the men called himself “an actual literal Nazi,” WTVF-TV reported. Another was filmed in Cookeville this year giving a Nazi salute outside a business that was hosting a drag show fundraiser, alongside people in Proud Boys gear and someone with a Nazi flag.
Hanson later said she is “not, nor have I ever been associated with any white supremacy or Nazi-affiliated group.” At a city council meeting the following week, Hanson would not speak against the group’s attendance at the candidate event, saying, “never did they lay a hand on anyone and they were very respectful while they were here.”
“When they wanted to come, because they were concerned about what they saw on the dark web, I said, ‘please do not make a scene if you’re going to come,’” Hanson said. “If they want to support you in your reelection, if they want to support me, that is their right. And we don’t discriminate in this community against anyone.”
WTVF-TV also reported that one of the white supremacists who attended the candidates forum, Sean Kauffmann, sat for a photo with Hanson and an interview with one of her supporters, and that they were posted on Telegram.
The day before the election, Hanson defended the group’s political activism, repeating that one of the men, Brad Lewis, was her client as a realtor. She called him “such a cool guy because he just doesn’t care what people think.”
“You can be friends or be a service provider as a realtor to anyone without necessarily believing in the same things that they do, or being like that person,” Hanson said on Patriot Punkcast. “And I’m just going to tell you, from what I’ve seen, I do not see white supremacist and I do not see Nazi.”
WTVF-TV’s investigations delved deeper.
One spurred Hanson to admit she was arrested for promoting prostitution in the mid-1990s in Texas. She says she was answering phones for what she believed was a “modeling and entertainment casting company.”
In another investigation, the station spoke to women who said they were upset because Hanson used their photos to claim they support her, which they said they don’t.
Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson weighed in Sunday against Hanson, saying he finds the reports about her “very credible.”
“To me, that renders her completely, 100% ineligible to hold any public office in the entire state of Tennessee,” he said at a political event, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Tennessee
Inside Igor Milicic Jr’s 18-rebound game for No. 1 Tennessee basketball vs Arkansas
John Calipari’s first observation about this Tennessee basketball team compared to last year’s is the Vols are a year older.
The second was about “the transfer in.”
The Arkansas coach was talking about Igor Milicic Jr., which was readily apparent as Calipari detailed what that unnamed transfer did Saturday. He stretches the floor for Tennessee. He helps the Vols.
He had double-digit rebounds, the key facet of Calipari’s description as Milicic had the best rebounding performance by a player in coach Rick Barnes’ decade at Tennessee.
“Igor was spectacular,” Barnes said.
Milicic grabbed 18 rebounds with six offensive boards and 13 points as No. 1 Tennessee (14-0, 1-0 SEC) pounded Arkansas (11-3, 0-1) on Saturday at Food City Center. It was his career best and the best by a Vol under Barnes.
Igor Milicic explains his 18 rebounds for Tennessee vs Arkansas
Milicic provided a simplified explanation for his rebounding success. His teammates block out and clear the way for him.
“I just need to go jump and get it,” Milicic said. “It’s not that hard, honestly.”
Milicic made it look that easy against Arkansas. The 6-foot-10 forward had nine rebounds before halftime, notched his 10th rebound 33 seconds into the second half, and kept going.
The Charlotte transfer is the fourth Vol in the past 20 years to have at least 18 rebounds in a game.
Milicic preached consistency as a key to being a good rebounder. You have to keep crashing the boards even when you are tired. You have to accept contact.
Barnes credited Milicic for his anticipation skills, quickness and good hands. He added more credit to his effort. He got that overall against Arkansas as Tennessee outrebounded Arkansas 51-29 with 24 offensive rebounds.
Milicic was the tone-setter because he makes it a priority, guard Zakai Zeigler said.
“Even if he is not shooting the ball well, I can count on him to go get 10 rebounds or go get five O-boards,” Zeigler said. “It is just really impressive he does it day in and day out.”
Why rebounding is fun to Igor Milicic Jr.
Tennessee knew Milicic was a good rebounder coming from Charlotte, where he averaged 8.5 rebounds last season.
His offensive rebounding has impressed. The Vols play faster than Charlotte, which means more rebounding opportunities. They also put more of an emphasis on offensive rebounding than Charlotte, which Milicic has enjoyed.
“It just another opportunity to score,” Milicic said. “It is all of us. We get extra opportunities to score and it shows with the shooting that we have here. It is really fun — and of course sometimes you get a putback, right?”
Milicic is averaging 8.9 rebounds after his 18-rebound game. The only other Vol to average that many in a season in the past 20 years is Jarnell Stokes, who had 9.6 per game in 2012-13 and 10.6 in 2013-14.
The Croatian has three straight games with at least 10 rebounds. He has double-digit rebounds in four of the past five games and six of the past eight. He had nine in one of those games.
He rocketed past those impressive games with his best one yet Saturday. That prompted Calipari’s attention and an understatement when he stated Milicic is “pretty good.”
A more fitting description is the compliment that followed: Milicic is doing what Calipari wishes his players would do. He’s an all-out rebounder and he’s one of the best at it.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
Tennessee
No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 23 Arkansas: Game information, lineups, notes
No. 1 Tennessee vs. No. 23 Arkansas: Game information, lineups, notes
Tennessee emerged from its non-conference slate unbeaten and has topped the major polls for four-straight weeks.
Now, the No. 1 Vols (13-0) begin their biggest challenge: SEC play.
TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM
Tennessee opens league action against No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) at Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN) in the first of back-to-back games against ranked teams and one with a number of intriguing storylines.
The Razorbacks, winners of four-straight, are led by a familiar face in John Calipari, who is in his first season after leaving Kentucky where he went up against the Vols in several notable games in the previous 15 years. Saturday also marks the return of former Vols forward Jonas Aidoo, now on the visitors side.
Aidoo will be facing a few of his former teammates, but Tennessee’s impressive start has been helped by the addition of two transfers of their own in starting guard Chaz Lanier and forward Igor Milicic Jr.
Lanier leads the Vols in scoring with 19.6 points per game and has scored 20-plus in six of 13 games, while Milicic is the team’s top rebounder, pulling down 8.2 per game.
The staples of Tennessee’s roster that were key in winning the league one year ago will again be key in its success in an SEC that has 10 teams ranked in the polls and 13 projected to reach the NCAA Tournament.
That includes the league’s assists leader in Zakai Zeigler and one of its most stingy defenders in Jahmai Mashack. And the bench, tested after the loss of JP Estrella to a season-ending injury and the abrupt exit for Cam Carr, has at least two proven options in Jordan Gainey and Cade Phillips.
How all of their contributions translate to what has proven to be the best conference in college basketball after a month and a half will soon be determined.
Here is everything you need to know about Tennessee’s SEC opener.
GAME INFORMATION
Who: No. 23 Arkansas (11-2) at No. 1 Tennessee (13-0)
When: Saturday, Jan. 4 | 1 p.m. ET
Where: Food City Center | Knoxville
TV: ESPN (Karl Ravech, play-by-play; Jimmy Dykes, analyst)
Radio: Vol Network (Bob Kesling, play-by-play; Bert Bertelkamp, analyst)
Series: 49th meeting all-time (Tennessee leads, 26-22)
KenPom: Tennessee 76, Arkansas 64
PROJECTED LINEUPS
NUMBERS EDGE
POINTS PER GAME
Arkansas 82.5
Tennessee 80.1
FIELD GOAL PERCENTAGE
Arkansas 51.5%
Tennessee 48.9%
THREE-POINT PERCENTAGE
Arkansas 36.8%
Tennessee 35.5%
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Three thoughts ahead of Tennessee basketball’s SEC opener vs. Arkansas
ASSISTS
Tennessee 16.8
Arkansas 16.8
REBOUNDS
Tennessee 38.9
Arkansas 36.2
BLOCKS
Arkansas 5.7
Tennessee 5.5
PREGAME NOTES
— Rick Barnes and John Calipari are meeting again as two of the winningest active head coaches in college basketball. Calipari is No. 1 among Division I coaches with 824 victories while Barnes is second with 819. Barnes is 13-12 vs. Calipari in head-to-head match ups.
— Tennessee will look to continue its success as the No. 1 team in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. The Vols are 13-2 all-time as the top-ranked team in the poll, and 12-1 under Rick Barnes, including a five-game win streak since jumping to No. 1 four weeks ago.
MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Rick Barnes assesses Tennessee basketball ahead of SEC play
— Tennessee and Arkansas’ non-conference schedule included three common opponents. The Vols went 3-0 vs. Baylor, Illinois and Miami, winning by an average margin of victory 10.0 points while the Razorbacks went 1-2 against those teams, beating Miami and losing to Baylor and Illinois at neutral sites.
— Arkansas guard Johnell Davis was listed as “probable” on the initial SEC availability report on Friday night. Davis hasn’t played since Dec. 14, sidelined by a wrist injury. Davis began his career at Florida Atlantic. He scored 15 points against Tennessee in the Sweet 16 in 2023. He is averaging 9.2 points with the Razorbacks.
Tennessee
Arkansas basketball availability report – Tennessee week
The first availability report for Arkansas basketball’s (11-2, 0-0 SEC) matchup against the No. 1 Tennessee Volunteers (13-0, 0-0 SEC) was released by the Southeastern Conference on Friday.
Introduced over the offseason, availability reports will be filed one day before contests, with an additional update on game day.
According to the SEC, student-athletes will be designated as “available”, “probable”, “doubtful” or “out” for their next game. For additional clarity on game day, student-athletes will be designated as “available”, “game time decision” or “out.”
Below is the first availability report of the week ahead of Arkansas’ game against Tennessee, which will tip off at noon CT at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee:
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