Auburn Denies Report, Labels it ‘Flawed’

Media reports alleging wrongdoing by Auburn and Gene Chizik have the former coach scratching his head. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Auburn responded Monday to the Selena Roberts piece that appeared a couple weeks ago on Roopstigo.com.

In her story, Roberts reported that Auburn paid players to remain in school, changed grades to keep players eligible and violated NCAA recruiting rules.

How well the report landed is eye of the beholder. It certainly didn’t help that every Auburn player quoted in the story who is not currently serving a jail sentence for first-degree robbery has denied comments attributed to them or said they were misinterpreted or misquoted.

Ever since Auburn skated on the Cam Newton scandal – with the NCAA declaring him ineligible for only one day (on the week of the SEC Championship Game) because Newton didn’t know his father, Cecil Newton, asked for money (!!!???) – many have at least suspected that the program cheated.

At this point, though, if Auburn did just want to come clean and move on, why would it? Especially considering Police Chief Clancy Wiggum essentially runs the show in Mark Emmert’s NCAA?

All of this isn’t to say anything one way or the other on the guilt of Auburn. It’s simply to frame Auburn’s response. The program’s innocence or lack thereof isn’t the focus of today’s column. Because, you know, it’s been done and it’s become boring.

Instead, let’s examine the key points coming out of today’s release, shall we?

The Highlights

• Auburn’s release details a “thorough” internal review, resulting in the belief from the athletics department that “many of the allegations” made by the former players are “baseless and inaccurate.” Which is great. Except that the players saying – apparently on the record – these things happen, in fact, eliminates the possibility that the allegations are “baseless.” “Inaccurate?” Possibly.
• Paragraph 2 of the response reads: “…Auburn football and Auburn’s policies had nothing to do with what happened the night that four former football players were arrested for armed robbery.” Look. I’m all for “boys will be boys.” But if Auburn football never recruits these players who committed the crime, the event never happens. If you want to say that Auburn didn’t, at that time, police its players on a nightly basis – something it actually did last year – then fine. To say the department bears no responsibility when it in essence financially vouched for these young men to attend their school – not so much. I’m not expecting anyone to be Boy Scouts here. Let’s just call it as it is.
• Auburn “cooperated with ESPN” for a story ESPN: The Magazine will apparently release soon “because of how appropriately and aggressively the Auburn Athletics Department… acted in response to the growing threat of synthetic marijuana during the 2010-11 academic year.” Too soon to make any judgments…
• The ESPN story will apparently quote a player who alleged that “up to half of the 2010 football team was using synthetic marijuana.” Auburn Athletics Director Jay Jacobs wrote in his open letter to fans that “It’s hard to be more wrong than that.” He adds that drug testing results will back him up. Well, up to half the team using synthetic marijuana would certainly back up the idea of it being a “growing threat.” So, good there. As for the drug testing results, any takers on the facility hiding behind some kind of privacy rule to never reveal them? No takers? None? OK. Let’s move along.
• Auburn began testing for synthetic marijuana “three days after our testing company made a test available,” which was on Jan. 27, 2011. There were three failed tests for synthetic marijuana out of 2,500 tests administered and none of the athletes are on current rosters. For starters, if this happened in 2011 and it’s now 2013, I don’t know how much that really says that they are not on current rosters. Secondly, the fact that the test didn’t become available until after the season ended hardly proves that the drug wasn’t used by half the team in 2010. On a related note: Wait. SEC football players smoke pot? (Warning: Link contains explicit language.)
• Phone records show that parents of former players who tested positive had “50 phone calls” placed to them – a point of contention those parents will apparently deny in the article. At least the father one of those players, who Auburn says was sent a letter, will apparently be quoted in the article. Nothing really to see here. Moving on.
• Former Auburn coach Gene Chizik, speaking to beat writers, issued his own denials on Monday. Included in his denials was his assertion that Auburn has become “the most scrutinized” program in college football. The Tigers have company along those lines, but it’s hard to argue that contention.
• Chizk: “The notion that we would pay a player in any shape or form to come to Auburn or stay at Auburn is absurd.” Let’s stop here for just a second. So we know that, according to the NCAA, Cecil Newton – father of Cam – at the very least asked for money for his son to play for Mississippi State. State knew who to call in such an event (something that is quickly glossed over and forgotten) but ultimately decided not to pay it (And let’s ignore that this was a poor choice considering that the Bulldogs were fairly good and Newton could have taken them to another level in 2010 – and considering that the NCAA is incompetent in the crime-and-punishment department.) Newton came to play for Auburn. I’m not sayin’. I’m just sayin’. At the very least – even if you believe to your core that Auburn is Snow White clean in this episode – the idea that Auburn paying Newton is “absurd”… Well, I don’t know that you have read this far into the column and if you have you’re a glutton for punishment.
• Chizik also specifically denied Auburn ever paid Newton to play for Auburn. The NCAA did clear Auburn and Newton after a lengthy investigation. (And if the NCAA’s investigators couldn’t prove it…)
• Jacobs: “There is no evidence” that there was any grade-changing for former RB Michael Dyer (who, incidentally, could resurface at Arkansas or TCU). Dyer had a 2.8 GPA at Auburn through Summer and Fall 2010. That would, in fact, be higher than the minimum GPA of 2.0 required for a player to play.
• Jacobs: Mike McNeil did have a grade changed, that all university policies were followed and that McNeil provided medical excuses for absences. Auburn is just begging for us to look into “university policies” here, isn’t it?
• Former WR Darvin Adams, who was quoted in the Roberts piece, also issued a statement – through Chizik’s agent. (Wait. What?) It read: “I never took any improper money from anyone at Auburn – coach or booster. I was never offered any money by anyone to stay at Auburn for my senior year.” This is important because Adams was one of two Roberts sources – McNeil being the other – who didn’t immediately back away from his quotes. At the same time, does Adams not have a cell phone? Or social media? Could he not set the record straight without the help of Chizik’s agent? No, that’s OK. Let’s just make this particular part look as suspicious as possible.
• Let’s just break down, verbatim, this quote from Chizk: “When the NCAA left, they didn’t find anything that indicated anybody was paid or anybody was offered money.” (OK. This is accurate. Maybe stop while we’re ahead? What do we think? Nope. There’s more.) “So I’m going to go one step further for all the people that are educated and have common sense.” (I don’t like where this is headed. Also: Common sense? Educated? College football fans? This doesn’t end well.) “If you don’t know how the NCAA works…” (Does the NCAA?) “…they’re very thorough in their investigations.” (Clearly. And good at them. #sarcasm) “Let me make that clear: they’re very thorough in their investigations.” (Really putting a lot of stock in the NCAA investigators, here, Gene. It seems as though you should have more reading time since you have the year off from coaching.) “You want me to back that up with fact?” (Of course. It beats fiction.) “I’ll name them: Miami, Ohio State. North Carolina. Most recently, Oregon, USC.” (The Miami point might not be the best at this time. Oregon, as of now, remains to be seen on severity of sanctions.) “So how could they come into Auburn and leave and find nothing…” (Really not sure on this one…) “…and that becomes a one-sentence statement after getting drug through the mud for 13 months?” (It’s pronounced “the media,” Gene. It’s also your most recent employer. Welcome aboard!) “How is that right?” (Question.) “It’s not right.” (Answer.) “So my point is that, that was a magical season for the Auburn people, for us as coaches, and all of our players, and it should be remembered as just that and nothing more.” (Strong close – assuming Auburn’s innocence. I will give you that. I’m betting against it, but it’s a strong close.)
• Chizik: Marijuana “is a performance-debilitating drug.” And, essentially, that proves it wasn’t a big deal at Auburn when it won a national championship. Should we really go through the long list of great football players who have smoked pot?
• Jacobs: Auburn President Jay Gogue is conducting “a top-to-bottom review” of the athletics department which will include the effectiveness of its leadership. Gotta say, I’m not thinking that looks especially good for Jacobs. He has hired two football coaches and one men’s basketball coach. His first football coach, Chizik, won a national championship. That’s a check in the “positive” box. Said coach was also fired after going 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC in 2012. Not as good. The men’s basketball coach, Tony Barbee, has gone 35-59 in three years at Auburn. His team has never sniffed even the NIT or CBI and has flirted with .500 only once. The Tigers’ best conference mark over those three years is 5-11 and the team is coming off a 9-23, 3-15 campaign – the worst of Barbee’s tenure. That, also, could be better.