Tennessee football fans accused of mocking ex-Arkansas QB Ryan Mallett's death with tasteless boat display

Unidentified Tennessee Volunteers football fans are being accused of mocking the 2023 drowning death of former Arkansas Razorbacks quarterback Ryan Mallett.

A day before the Vols hosted the Razorbacks in Knoxville, reporter Trey Schaap posted a photo of a Halloween skeleton dressed in a No. 15 Arkansas replica jersey. The skeleton was perched on the back of a boat along the Tennessee River, where local football fans known as the Vols Navy 'sailgate' before big games.

Fans quickly made the connection between Mallett, who wore No. 15 for the Razorbacks, and the plastic skeleton floating around on the banks of the Tennessee River. 

'I pray this is AI,' one Razorbacks fan wrote. 'Otherwise how heartless can you be?'

Many others thought this was an innocent Halloween decoration, but given the choice of jersey, others saw it as a deliberate attempt to mock a tragedy. As one put it, the skeleton was 'wearing a Ryan Mallett jersey,' making the intention 'pretty self explanatory.'

'Disgusting,' another fan wrote. 'Ryan Mallett is an Arkansas legend.'

'Wrong on so many levels,' one Arkansas supporter wrote on X. 'Whoever did that is a truly awful person. Rest in peace Ryan Mallett.'

An Arkansas native who went on to play for the NFL's New England Patriots and Baltimore Ravens, the strong-armed Mallett drowned in Destin, Florida in June of 2023. Local officials ultimately pointed to heat exhaustion to explain the 35-year-old's tragic death, which occurred while on vacation with his girlfriend. 

Mallett had been out of the NFL since 2017.  

The Vols Navy is a fan tradition in which Tennessee supporters dock their boats near Neyland Stadium for some pre-game grilling and drinks.

It's believed to have begun in 1962 with radio announcer George Mooney and now around 200 boats take part in the gameday event.