WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the U.S. Naval Academy rejected suggestions Friday that political pressure influenced him in pursuing sexual assault charges against a football player at the school.

Vice Adm. Michael Miller, the school’s superintendent, dismissed the suggestions of a lawyer for the student while testifying for more than three hours in a military courtroom in Washington. His appearance was part of a hearing ahead of a scheduled trial for the student, Joshua Tate of Nashville, Tenn.