More Of The Same

More of the same… in basketball, in the administration and from the media.  The latest this week is another attack on the 2010 football team by loving alumnus Selena Roberts and the beacon of journalistic integrity, ESPN.  The allegations include alleged payoffs, grade fixes and Auburn ignoring synthetic marijuana use.

The bulk of the allegations are from the “Trailer Park Four” who are all either already or about to be convicted felons looking at about a decade in the big house at least.  Selena Roberts has already written one hatchet job on Auburn trying to defame Chette Williams in 2005.  ESPN is already into double-digits on convicting Auburn on mere allegations.  While the rest of the world looks down on Auburn again and questions any of us who dare question any of these hatchet jobs, you really have to wonder what is going on here. 

Why is anyone still attacking a team from three years ago?  That is the question.  That is the key.  We are talking THREE YEARS AGO.  Add to that fact that Auburn athletics has completely crumbled to the worst in the conference and it is pretty clear.  There is just no reason other than the fact that there are people who continually perpetrate attacks on Auburn whether it is using psychopaths to destroy our landmarks or using their henchmen in the press.  They wait for any opportunity and then launch their attack.

This time you have indicted armed robbers Mike McNeil and Dakota Moseley desperate to save themselves or pay for their legal defense.  They pretty much have nothing else they can do other than selling out Auburn to these people always ready to attack Auburn.  The majority, if not all of the allegations, start with these soon-to-be convicted felons.  Like the HBO story that also turned up NOTHING you have no credible witnesses here.
 

Here are a few of the “stunning” allegations included in this hatchet job:

"* McNeil said he received $400 from former Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, now the head coach at Florida. Muschamp denied the allegation to AL.com through Florida officials Wednesday.

* McNeil said he had a letter grade changed from an F to a C.

* McNeil said players were provided more money than permitted under NCAA rules to spend on visiting recruits.

* Adams "confirmed he was offered financial incentives" to stay for his senior season.

* McNeil said coaches gave him $500 to entertain former Alabama cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick. 

* McNeil said his grades were changed; and that the team was told as many as nine players would not be able to play in the 2010 national championship game due to academic ineligibility, but all played.”

Does ANYONE believe Will Muschamp paid a player while defensive coordinator at Auburn?  That one sounds pretty ludicrous.  Could a subjective grade have been changed to keep McNeil or other players eligible?  Absolutely.  Can you prove that?  Not likely.  There is no evidence it was done other than the word of an indicted armed felon.  Also you could pretty much level this allegation against any team that has won a national championship in the last 30 years.  Especially a program that has won three out of four and not lost one important player to grades in any of those national championship games.

Spending money on recruits that did not even sign with Auburn?  That certainly could have happened but again that is pretty small and you need this funny little thing called evidence.  Right now we just have the word of an indicted armed robber but that seems to be enough for ESPN to blast Auburn hundreds of times a day over their ticker.  This also shows the bias of the writers and their sponsors behind the scenes.  They are trying to rig up some recruiting allegations against Auburn from three years ago while another team has won or been in the top three in recruiting since 2008 and has been tied to some shady incidents but not one thing is written against them.

I would hate to see what would be written about Auburn if they...

§         Had a booster take two of their best players on an all-expenses
       paid fishing trip.

§         Had the same booster buy a laptop for another top recruit.

§         Had a top recruit commit to Bama on Signing Day on ESPN and then a few hours later that recruit suddenly decommit and then later sign with Auburn.

§         Had the top recruit in the state taken out of school and sequestered at an undisclosed location.

§         Had the next top recruit in the state that was committed to Bama all year long suddenly at the last minute before the dead period suddenly decommit and go to Auburn.

§         Had that same player tell the opposing coaches that he had to go to that school because of the pressure being applied to his parents.

Man could you imagine?  The masses would have burned Auburn to the ground if any of that had happened that way instead of against Auburn.  So while one school dominates every phase of college football for five years, we have people drum up allegations against Auburn from three years ago.  Fish out in the hot July sun for days do not stink that bad.  Oh I am sorry I guess they are just that clean.  It is not like virtually every prolonged college football dynasty is sooner or later plagued by NCAA allegations.  I guess that is just for schools who have not tied the NCAA up in prolonged litigation in the past.

We then have allegations wide receiver Darvin Adams was offered money to stay at Auburn his senior season?  It certainly could have happened but since Adams did NOT stay, who cares?  I mean talk about ridiculous.  Let’s crush Auburn on allegations about something that could have happened but in fact did not.

Finally, synthetic marijuana.  I do not know what else to say other than the fact that synthetic marijuana was LEGAL and sold in convenience stores in the fall of 2010.  Of course college students were using it.  It was in fact a big problem in the whole state and obviously a lot of people were doing it in this state (except I guess the angels playing football in Tuscaloosa).  However I do not think Jay Jacobs was lying in his released statement.  Does anyone really think the football coaches wanted the players doing it?  The problem was the stuff was legal and Auburn had no test for it and could do nothing about it.  I just do not understand this whole angle… oh wait it is the whole defense for our indicted armed robbers.  It could not be the fact that they were idiots and made a stupid mistake, no it was the synthetic marijuana’s fault and Auburn for not stopping them from using it.  They had to get this story going and had people willing to use it and probably pay them for it. 

So Auburn defends themselves and various Auburn players quoted in one of the articles deny the quotes attributed to them or say they were changed.  What do these writers say to defend their stories?  Ms. Roberts could simply play the conversations she had with these players but she has not?  I wonder why.  The ESPN guy says Auburn is lying based on the word of… you guessed it, soon-to-be convicted felon Dakota Mosley.  This guy even insinuates that some Auburn person gave Mosley, a complete nothing player, stacks of cash.  Wow how could anyone question this story.

But don’t worry, Ms. Roberts is already promising part 2!  I can’t wait.  Let me guess, the 2010 Auburn team was doping and using PEDs?  No wait, there has only been whispers about one team in this state using PEDs and it is not Auburn.  You know the one that appears to consistently be unbelievably big and strong.  But hey why lets the facts get in the way of a good story?  That is always the case when it is time for the media to slam Auburn again.

You really have to wonder why Auburn continues to be attacked?  We are ALREADY ON PROBATION as long as Jay Jacobs remains as athletic director.  The WORST SEASON EVER continues.  That was actually going to be what this post was about till these allegations were published this week.  I think I have covered my thoughts on them so let me quickly hit the other things that are "more of the same".  Before this weekend Auburn had finished tied for dead last in football at 0-8, then finished dead last in basketball at 3-15 and is now 1-8 in baseball losing a series at home to Bama this last weekend.  Auburn is about to put up the worst season in men's major sports EVER.  What in the world does it take to get fired as athletic director at Auburn?

 

We are not doing great in most of the other sports either.  It is simply mind-boggling to me that this guy is still employed at Auburn.  How can we ever fire an athletic director again if one cannot get fired for this abomination of a sports year?  I did not post one thing on basketball this year.  Nothing has changed since the post I wrote last year titled "Auburn basketball is at a dead end".  In fact things only got worse.  My gosh we lost our last 10 games in a row and 16 out of 17 games to end the season.  Coach Barbee even gave up during that span.  He completely lost his fire, never got off the bench and just doled out platitudes after games. 

 

Basketball is a complete and full blown disaster.  It is dead and it is the Auburn administration's fault for letting it die on the table over the last 20 years.  South Carolina remains three games ahead of Auburn, 221-218 in conference losses since 1992 (with nobody else even close) but I have no doubt Auburn will take them.  There just seems to be no hope for Auburn basketball.  Right now there seems to be precious little hope anywhere for Auburn athletics.  Man what would be the best way to start fixing that?