Two Former Tennessee Football Players Are Indicted by Grand Jury

Tony Robinson and Kenneth (B.B.) Cooper, former Tennessee football players, were named Monday in a 26-count indictment accusing them of conspiring to sell cocaine to an undercover officer.

The grand jury indictment, which was returned Wednesday but remained sealed until a hearing Monday, covered eight cocaine charges filed Jan. 8 and added the element of conspiracy.

Robinson and Cooper were arrested at their off-campus apartment after a three-month investigation that began one month after Robinson had injured his knee and was forced to the sidelines.

Robinson, 22, who was making a bid for the Heisman Trophy before the injury last October, and Cooper, 23, appeared in criminal court when the indictments were unsealed. Both remained free on bond.

Robinson is charged with taking part in the sale of slightly more than 30 grams of cocaine. Cooper is accused in the sale of more than 46 grams. Trial was scheduled Nov. 11.

Under Tennessee law, the alleged sale of more than 30 grams permits prosecutors to charge a defendant with a Class X felony, which carries a possible sentence upon conviction of 10 years to life.

Cooper, of Huntsville, Ala., was Robinson’s roommate and a reserve running back from 1981-85. Both men are still students at the University of Tennessee although a disciplinary hearing, which could result in their expulsion, is pending.