They're rotten to the core....always have been....always will be, as long as they're getting their azzes whipped by Bama and LSU...even the Cam the Fig Newton deal was rotten.
Wednesday, Apr 3, 2013 at 9:42 pm EDT
Staff report Sporting News
"""A scathing report alleges Auburn paid football players "several thousand dollars" and changed grades, among other violations, under coach Gene Chizik.
Chizik was fired after the 2012 season and has been replaced by former Auburn assistant Gus Malzahn. The report on Roopstigo.com by Selena Roberts described a culture of NCAA violations, criminal activity and more. Included in that crime was the arrest of four former Auburn players, including Mike McNeil, who spoke to Roberts while he awaits trial on armed robbery charges.
Former Auburn coach Gene Chizik allegedly allowed grade changes and paid players, among other NCAA violations. (AP Photo)Three former players told Roberts that the university changed grades to keep players eligible, including former star running back Mike Dyer, during the team's national championship run. Dyer left the program after the year, transferred to Arkansas State, and is now out of the game.
"We thought we would be without Mike Dyer because he said he was one of them, but Auburn found a way to make those dudes eligible," Mike Blanc, a former Tigers defensive lineman, told Roberts.
Dyer went on to be named Most Valuable Player of the BCS National Championship game.
Blanc on Wednesday denied making such statements. He told rivals.com that he had no knowledge of grades being changed, and added that his grades were not changed.
Roberts further claimed that players were allegedly offered cash for a number of things, such as returning to school instead of entering the NFL Draft. Former receiver Darvin Adams, Blanc and McNeil all said the amount was "several thousand dollars."
McNeil alleges that current Florida coach Will Muschamp, a former Auburn defensive coordinator, offered him $400. Muschamp has denied the allegations.
Former Auburn standout Neiko Thorpe said coaches gave the athletes $500 to entertain star recruit Dre Kirkpatrick. The NCAA allowance is $50 per day. Kirkpatrick ended up signing with Alabama.
After the release of Roberts' report, Thorpe told the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer that Roberts misquoted him throughout the story, quoted him out of context, quoted him as saying something he didn't say, and misled him about the nature of the story.
“She explained to me she was doing a story on Mike McNeil, and basically it was a story trying to be good information about him, just telling what a good person he was,” Thorpe, now playing for the Kansas City Chiefs, was quoted by the Ledger-Enquirer as saying. “She told me she was just trying to do a good story on Mike—a character story, letting people know what kind of person he was.”
Thorpe also told the Ledger-Enquirer: “It was kind of crazy when I had a chance to read it and see what she put wasn’t true.”
Roberts, who is an Auburn graduate, defended her reporting in a Q&A with al.com. She also expressed disappointment with the responses of Blanc and Thorpe.
"I thought the one thing I was disheartened by with Mike Blanc and Neiko was that they were willing to put their name to what they said," she told the website. "I did talk to other players who were not comfortable with putting their name on it and told me some information on background. So, in some sense, when they were willing to say what they said and put their name on it, I think that showed a lot of courage and I think now in the aftermath of it you can see why it does take a lot of courage to stand up for what you believe is right and say things you believe are absolutely, 100 percent true." """
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