Report: Auburn bribed players, changed grades

[tk13]

Auburn's football program changed players' grades to secure eligibility, offered money to potential NFL draft picks so they would return for their senior seasons, and violated NCAA recruiting rules under former coach Gene Chizik, according to a report by former New York Times and Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts.

The report appears on Roberts' website, Roopstigo.com. According to three former Auburn players, as many as nine players' grades were changed before Auburn's win in the 2011 BCS national championship game.

"We thought we would be without (running back) Mike Dyer because he said he was one of them, but Auburn found a way to make those dudes eligible," former Auburn defensive lineman Mike Blanc told Roberts.

According to the report, Auburn coaches offered money to players for any number of reasons, including as a means to convince players to bypass the NFL draft.

Darvin Adams, a former Auburn wide receiver, told Roberts that coaches offered him cash to keep him at the school.

Blanc and Mike McNeil, another former Auburn player, told Roberts the money amounts reached "several thousand dollars."

"Coaches would say, 'Don't tell anyone where you got it from,'" Blanc told Roberts.

McNeil told Roberts he had a meeting with then-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, now Florida's coach, in 2007.

"I had no clue what it was about because I'd never directly asked him for anything," McNeil told Roberts. "He slid about $400 over to me. He went into a drawer and gave me money and said, 'Is this enough? Is this good?' And I said, 'Yeah, I'm good.'"

McNeil is awaiting trial for armed robbery stemming from a March 2011 arrest. In June, his former teammate Antonio Goodwin was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his part in the incident. Ben Hand, McNeil's former attorney, maintained McNeil's innocence to Roberts.

Former Auburn defensive back Nieko Thorpe told Roberts that Auburn, in a team meeting, threatened players' scholarships if they contacted McNeil, Goodwin or the two other players arrested.

McNeil told Roberts he felt Auburn used him as a scapegoat at a time when the Tigers faced negative publicity from allegations that it had paid the father of star quarterback Cam Newton. An NCAA investigation found Auburn committed no major rules violations in Newton's recruitment.

"Maybe there is a fear in Auburn's mind that Michael knows too much," McNeil's father, Clifton, told Roberts. "Their fear is that Michael will expose the family secret. It's a way to silence him."

Thorpe also told Roberts the coaching staff far exceeded its NCAA-allotted per diem for entertaining recruits. Thorpe said coaches gave players $500 to entertain current Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, even though the NCAA reportedly limits expenses to less than $50 per day.

All of these allegations happened under Chizik, who guided Auburn to its first national title since 1957 after the 2010 season.

Chizik was fired after a 3-9 season last year.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/...cording-report

[notorious]

Will Muschamp is starting to sweat a little bit.

[DaKCMan AP]

Several former Auburn players are now denying knowledge of any wrongdoing by the football program, going as far to say they were misquoted in Roberts' report.

...

Former Auburn players Neiko Thorpe and Mike Blanc were quoted in the story but later said Wednesday their quotes were either taken out of context or flat-out wrong.

http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/ind...berts_def.html

[Bambi]

Originally Posted by 'Hamas' Jenkins

Says the dude whose team in his avatar is among the most heavily penalized in all of sports and the only team in CBB history to be banned from defending a title due to violations.

You're 30 years in the past man. Things change.

Except for the SEC that is.

[Saul Good]

Originally Posted by Wickedson

You're 30 years in the past man. Things change.

Except for the SEC that is.

When is the last time an SEC school got hit with major penalties? It's not like a coach tried to make it look like a dead player was a drug dealer or something.

[BlackHelicopters]

Selena Roberts= Journalist.

[Saul Good]

Http://www.footballgeography.com/?p=1159

Every single Big 12 school is represented on this list. That's impressive. Hell, every school that has ever been in the conference is represented except Mizzou.

[Saul Good]

If you ever need to get to the KU basketball wikipedia page, just google "sanctions against big 12 schools"and click the "I'm feeling lucky" button.

[tecumseh]

Nothing new under the sun. Big money in them there football programs. Huge stadiums, huge facilities. No one should be shocked by this.

[BlackHelicopters]

College athletics is corrupt? Who knew?

[Hootie]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

If you ever need to get to the KU basketball wikipedia page, just google "sanctions against big 12 schools"and click the "I'm feeling lucky" button.

I think any Mizzou fan would gladly switch spots if it meant they were perennial contenders rather than easy 1st round outs...

[HemiEd]

Originally Posted by Saul Good

Http://www.footballgeography.com/?p=1159

Every single Big 12 school is represented on this list. That's impressive. Hell, every school that has ever been in the conference is represented except Mizzou.

Without spending a lot of time on this, are Ol Miss, Vanderbilt and Missouri the only ones missing from the SEC?

From looking at that list, it looks like cheating is required to actually win something.

Being clean has apparently paid off really well, especially for Missouri. What have they won again, I forget?

[gblowfish]

Mizzou basketball learned how to shave points from Auburn.

[Mr. Laz]

Originally Posted by HoneyBadger

Just pay the players already. These problems would stop.

bullshit

Paying the players would just lead to a competition about who could pay the players the most.


start paying players and you might as well kick 70% of schools out of division 1.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

The truth is that major college athletics is fundamentally corrupt and probably shouldn't exist. I'd miss it if it were gone, as it's a constant source of misery and disappointment, but it's the most crooked athletic cabal this side of the Olympics.

[Titty Meat]

Auburn is a slimeball school. Great example Nebraska was suppose to get Matt Atewe he even said personally he liked Nebraska but his AAU coach liked Auburn. He committed to Auburn this past week. Suspicious if you ask me.