The last thing Illinois needs is for Brad Underwood to be blindsided at a normal media event with a bunch of probing questions about this -- where his every word, facial expression, tone of voice will be scrutinized. The AD took the proper approach by issuing a general statement with which our coaching staff can reference when the press asks "gotcha" type questions. The press can still ask their crazy questions but now the staff can say the university previously addressed the issue, there are no updates to it (assuming BU isn't implicated in any way) and for the press to focus on the media event at hand.
I'm not an attorney, but I would guess that more folks who are innocent come off sounding guilty than those who are actually guilty. The intelligent guilty person knows they are guilty, so they typically have thought how they are are going to handle things and have a more polished response. When a person is innocent and is accused by the media, it's not easy to strike a good balance of defending one's self without coming across looking guilty. I assume this is one reason why in court cases attorneys try to keep the defendant off the stand as the outcome is unpredictable.
Had BU issued a statement himself it would it would have been taken as him being defensive and possibly guilty, but because the AD issued it then it is taken as just information being disseminated to the fan base to address those who are overly concerned, and who may be bombarding the department with calls and questions.
In my opinion, this was the proper approach, as it shows that we are on top of things and not ignoring the elephant in the room.