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Pat Dye Field => War Damn Eagle => Topic started by: The Six on April 03, 2013, 06:50:10 PM
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With all the heat on the NCAA, you knew this was coming.
http://www.roopstigo.com/reader/auburns_vainted_title_victims_violations_and_vendettas_for_glory/ (http://www.roopstigo.com/reader/auburns_vainted_title_victims_violations_and_vendettas_for_glory/)
Auburn’s Tainted Title
Victims, Violations and Vendettas for Glory
By Selena Roberts - Our Own Alumna
Her calls went straight to voicemail. Her texts went unreturned. By mid-morning on March 11, 2011, the mother of Auburn University star safety Mike McNeil felt the shudder of a parental alarm go off in her mind. Where was Melodie Campbell’s son? His college roommates hadn’t seen him. He was absent from team workouts. He hadn’t been admitted to a hospital. Vanished.
Campbell would discover what happened to her son over a timeline that may prove to be a tripwire to imploding a powerful and storied athletic institution. In Auburn, Ala., the influence of its behemoth college football program can be traced by the river of money that flows through the local businesses at Toomer’s Corner and spills into the coffers of millionaire coaches who occupy the 88,0000 square-foot athletics complex. That Campbell was the last to know of her son’s fate over a five-hour search for answers raises serious questions about Auburn University’s role in a felony case and illuminates a culture seemingly unhinged from institutional control:
Noon — Contacting the Auburn city police, Campbell discovers Mike is at the station. Insisting on answers, she is transferred to an official who refers to himself as Capt. Welch. The only Capt. Welch listed on the force is Corey Welch. “At first he gave me the run-around and I said, ‘Look, I’m in Mobile (Ala.). Do I need to get there?’†recalls Campbell. “And he said, ‘Oh, no, Mrs. Campbell, you don’t need to be up here. We’re just waiting for Coach to come. This has been a big misunderstanding, a college prank gone wrong.’ He kept saying, ‘We’re going to handle this internally. We’re not allowing the media to know; and we’re keeping it all under wraps here. Just stay there and wait to get a call from the coach.’ I said, ‘Wait, I have the right to know what my son has been charged with.’ And he said, ‘No, it’s not like that.’â€
12:30 p.m. — Campbell’s father, Clifton McNeil, a former NFL receiver with Pro Bowl credentials who helped rear his grandson since Mike was 7 and his father was murdered, calls Capt. Welch to see if he can gather more information. He also is told: “Don’t worry. Everything will be handled internally.†Clifton then calls Mike’s position coach, Tommy Thigpen. “He tells me to ‘hold tight. Coach (Gene) Chizik will call and tell you what’s going on,’†McNeil recalls.
1:30 p.m. — Still unable to reach Mike, the family decides to drive to Auburn. Melodie, her younger son, Pat, Clifton and his wife, Ruby – Melodie’s mother and Mike’s grandmother – climb into an SUV for the 3-hour drive.
3:30 p.m. — Outside of Montgomery, Ala., the family pulls over. Clifton receives a call from Chizik that lasts less than 30 seconds. As Clifton recalls, Chizik says he is sorry but he has to kick Mike off the team because the charges are serious. What charges? Chizik doesn’t say. He only tells Clifton he is about to inform the press.
4 p.m. — As the drive to Auburn continues, a radio report fills in the details that neither Chizik nor police would discuss with the family. Four Auburn players — Mike McNeil, Dakota Mosley, Shaun Kitchens and Antonio Goodwin — have been arrested and charged with five counts of armed robbery. Unknown to the McNeils, Auburn police had disseminated a press release just after the family began its journey to the university. “We had family calling us from California saying it’s all over ESPN,†recalls Campbell. “By the time we got up to Auburn, Mike was being arraigned.â€
Antonio Goodwin at trial
On April 8, more than two years later, Mike McNeil is scheduled to go to trial for armed robbery. If convicted, he could face 21 years to life in prison. For two years, Mike has maintained he is innocent of all charges. He has declined plea deals that would allow him to serve three years, even after the first of the four accused players, Antonio Goodwin, was in court last spring and found guilty. Goodwin was sentenced to 15 straight years and is serving his sentence at Kirby Correctional Facility in Montgomery, Ala. “To show you how innocent he is, Mike is willing to go to trial because he says he didn’t do it,†says Ben Hand, who recently was dismissed as McNeil’s attorney after the family formally complained that he had a conflict of interest. “Mike McNeil didn’t rob anyone.â€
How did Mike McNeil end up with a trial date on such severe charges? Was he afforded due process? Did police follow proper procedure? Have authorities relied on testimony from five victims that night or their changing accounts months later? For nearly 14 hours after they were first detained at around 12:25 a.m. on March 11, McNeil, Goodwin, Mosley and Kitchens spent most of their time in a holding cell, sometimes sleeping, other times talking to authorities. “They said, ‘We’re not booking y’all,†recalls Mike. “They said, ‘We’re waiting for the coaches.’â€
Auburn athletic officials declined comment when contacted by Roopstigo. Auburn police refused comment and referred all questions to District Attorney Robert Treese. Messages left with the Lee County court administrator for Treese went unreturned. Chizik did not answer calls made to a cell phone for him and a spokesperson for ESPN, where he has been a guest analyst, said they could not help reach him.
To this day, no one from the university has talked to the family. After Mike McNeil posted a $511,000 bond, Police Chief Tommy Dawson told McNeil’s then-attorney that even though he was innocent until proven guilty, Mike would be arrested for trespassing if he set foot on campus. “In my 22 years,†Hand said, “I’d never heard of anything like that happening to a student.†In a team meeting, players were told by coaches not to contact any of the accused or risk losing their scholarship. “Mike was like a brother,†says Nieko Thorpe, a former Auburn defensive back who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. “I wanted to talk to my brother. I’m sure, with all that was going on, he felt betrayed.â€
Mike felt isolated and in the crosshairs of a program’s politics. “It made me feel like they were saying, ‘He’s expendable; we can use him as a scapegoat,’†Mike says. Until the robbery allegations, he had never been in legal trouble or termed a problem player. “He was the best teammate you could imagine,†says former Tigers linebacker Daren Bates. “He took me under his wing. He would draw up defenses. And we’d watch film. He was a mentor to everyone.†At 6-2, 208 pounds, Mike was viewed as an NFL prospect after recovering from a broken leg in 2009 to become a star in 2010, capping it with a team-high 14 tackles, including a sack and a touchdown-saving stop, in the BCS Championship against Oregon. He was reared in a two-story brick home in the suburbs of Mobile as a member of a well-respected, spiritual family. “Mike didn’t need money,†Hand said. “There is no motive.â€
“Mike didn’t need money,†Hand said. “There is no motive.â€
What motive would Auburn have to interfere? In the months leading up to the robbery, Auburn had been dealing with behavioral issues involving players. Allegations that then-quarterback Cam Newton was part of a pay-to-play scheme further fueled the image of a rogue school lacking discipline. “Maybe there is a fear in Auburn’s mind that Michael knows too much,†says Clifton. “Their fear is that Michael will expose the family secret. It’s a way to silence him.â€
What NCAA rules?
Mike McNeil
Mike McNeil can detail how the culture of big-time football works in a fast-growing community of 53,000 under the thumb of its major industry: Auburn University athletics. In an economic impact survey by the school in 2007, the report stated: “a conservative estimate of Auburn football’s direct visitor expenditures is more than $79.6 million during seven home events. That spending generates some $173 million in economic impact.†The university tentacles reach everywhere as the leading employer in Lee County. Chris Hughes, the judge who is scheduled to sit on the bench at Mike’s trial next week, is an Auburn University alumnus. According to his website, he once worked at the university coliseum and his sister is an Auburn University professor. The school is a massive construction zone these days thanks to public funding and the largesse of wealthy alumni, many of whom sit in luxury boxes at Jordan-Hare Stadium, seating capacity 87,451.
As part of the BCS-dominant SEC, Auburn athletics feeds off the more than $3 billion earned by the conference through network and cable TV deals and will be part of an incoming stream of millions more with the SEC TV Network set to launch in 2014. “They recruit you by telling you what you want to hear: You’re family; you’re like a son to me,†says Mike. “But the reality is your class schedule is planned around football, not the other way around. It’s a business and there are players on the payroll.â€
McNeil is not alone in understanding how Auburn football operates as an underground society beneath the NCAA’s radar. “Auburn does whatever Auburn wants,†says Thorpe. In interviews with more than a dozen players from the BCS title team, a portrait emerges of a championship tainted by allegations suggesting a program going off the rails:
Academic fraud: Three players say that before the BCS Championship game the team was told that as many as nine of their teammates would not be able to play in the title game because they were academically ineligible. “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,†says Mike Blanc, a teammate and roommate of Mike McNeil’s. Dyer’s name was cited by McNeil, too. Dyer did not respond to calls to his cell phone. Before the season, McNeil says he was given an F for attendance in a computer science class. “I had B work but I missed too many classes; and I went to the instructor and said, ‘I really need this grade,’†says McNeil. “He said that he was sorry but he wouldn’t change it. I went to the person over him. She was in a position of power and backed up the instructor. I then told my counselor with the athletic department.†Within days, McNeil says, the grade was changed from an F to a C and he did not miss a game.
Payments to players: Receiver Darvin Adams, a star player with NFL dreams and a family to support, wrestled with whether to turn pro after the championship season. He discussed his plans with teammates and told them how much pressure he was under by Auburn coaches to stay. McNeil and Blanc say Auburn coaches offered Adams several thousand dollars to stay for his senior year. “It was sugar-coated in a way,†says Adams, who confirmed he was offered financial incentives, but declined to detail the exact amount. “It was like, we’ll do this and that for you. But I’d rather do things the right way. I am happy I didn’t say yes to that stuff. That’s what I’d tell kids.†Adams turned pro but went undrafted, a result, one NFL scout says, was due to negative reports on him from Auburn coaches. Adams plays for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League and refuses to be bitter. “I play the cards I’m dealt,†he says. Other players tell stories of in-season cash payments to players. “Coaches would say, ‘Don’t tell anyone where you got it from,’’’ says Blanc. McNeil recalls having a difficult day at practice in 2007 and then-defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, calling him into his office. “I had no clue what it was about because I’d never directly asked him for anything,†says McNeil. “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.’†Muschamp, now the head football coach at the University of Florida, denied the payment through a spokesperson.
“I had no clue what it was about because I’d never directly asked him for anything,†says McNeil. “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.’â€
Recruiting violations: The NCAA allows less than $50 a day to be spent by student-athlete recruiters on visiting prospects but McNeil recalls coaches giving him $500 to entertain blue-chip player Dre Kirkpatrick, one of the top prep players in the country in 2008. “This is how it goes: Coaches have certain players that they trust. And when I say trust I mean on the field and off the field,†says McNeil. “It’s within the family. It’s within the system. If I’m a star player and I’m a likable person, and a recruit comes in at my position, then, of course, I’m going to take him under my wing. … If a star recruit was in town, you would get a lot more than the NCAA limit.†As Thorpe said, “A special recruit was treated like a king.â€
Coach Chizik
Coach Chizik
Dread the dreads
Part of playing for Auburn, as McNeil says, was a privilege. But as several former players suggested, there also was a price to play for being high profile. What they wore was under inspection and how they styled their hair was a bone of contention. “When the new coaches came in under Chizik, they implemented new rules and it was kind of no tolerance, but it always seemed to be aimed at the black guys,†says Blanc. “Chizik didn’t like tattoos and he didn’t like dreads.†Players say Chizik asked them to cut their dreadlocks, part of an ongoing culture war within the program – and outside of it. Players describe police as part of the program of surveillance. “We were targeted by police,†says Antoine Carter, Auburn’s former star defensive end. “You’d get harassed. They would pull you over for nothing as a way to keep track of you.†McNeil remembers turning right on red, a legal move, but finding police lights behind him. He says police drew their guns on him over a traffic stop.
What was Auburn so afraid of? Before the BCS title game, dozens of players were being randomly drug tested internally — beyond the NCAA tests for performance enhancers — and coming up positive for marijuana. As players recall, more than 40 players tested positive for recreational drugs after the national championship. Mike did not test positive though he was often tested. Carter says he was tested at least 100 times and, yes, did fail a test. “If you were black and had dreadlocks and tattoos, you were somehow tested more in what was called random testing,†says Carter. “It was ridiculous. Everyone noticed it.â€
Although the lauded defensive end will live forever in highlight footage — Carter stripped Mark Ingram and forced a fumble to ignite Auburn’s comeback against Alabama in 2010 — he was overlooked in the draft. The 2010 championship team had only two first-round picks (Cam Newton and Nick Fairley) and two players go in the later rounds that year. By contrast, past title winners such as Alabama and Texas have watched as many as a dozen go in the draft. “The difference,†says one NFL scout, “is what you hear about players.†Carter wonders if his positive drug test from Auburn’s internal testing has obstructed his NFL path. “The coaches had a lot of say-so with scouts,†says Carter. “Chizik didn’t like anyone who didn’t fit a certain image.â€
Players’ access to marijuana — including a synthetic version called spice — leads back to the crime scene.
The high life
A trailer home on Wire Road was a hotspot for drug activity, players say. “From everything I know, drugs flowed freely from there,†says Blanc. “It wasn’t a secret that, if someone wanted something, they could get it there.†Just after midnight of March 11, 2011, a 911 call came from the home: Five people inside had been robbed by three black men.
“From everything I know, drugs flowed freely from there,†says Blanc. “It wasn’t a secret that, if someone wanted something, they could get it there.â€
In the darkness of that early morning, the dashboard video of an Auburn city police car reveals grainy images of four players — one white male, three black males —being asked to emerge from a silver Chrysler 300 on a dirt road. The car owner was McNeil but Mosley was in the driver’s seat. With hands raised, they stepped from the vehicle. Within minutes, the five victims, who had not identified their intruders with detail on the 911 call, were brought by police to see the suspects standing in the dark in handcuffs. Show-up lineups are controversial because of their suggestive nature and Hand filed a motion to suppress evidence, arguing the traffic stop was illegal and identification was inadmissible. Judge Hughes denied the motion. In the car, police found an air pistol and a handgun under a seat with no fingerprints on it. The gun belonged to Auburn star running back Mike Dyer. He stated he had been smoking synthetic marijuana earlier in the night with Mosley, Kitchens and Goodwin. His gun would not be sent to the lab for DNA testing, according to transcripts from the Goodwin trial.
Over the next three hours, the players were taken to a holding cell while the victims gave differing statements: It was a robbery with three masked men and three semi-automatic pistols or three men and one gun; it was a robbery with three men who left out the back door or left out the front; it was a robbery with one victim running to the bathroom with a gun pointed at her or one victim running by herself to a bedroom.
After distilling statements from the victims, a police report was released by the city police around 1:30 p.m. — while the McNeils were traveling to Auburn — and described the arrest as follows: “At approximately 12:25 a.m. this same date (March 11) officers responded to a residence located in the 2300 block of Lee Road 137 (Wire Road) in reference to the report of a robbery that had just occurred. According to the five victims present, three black males entered the residence with one displaying a handgun. Personal property was taken. No injuries were reported.â€
In police statements, Goodwin admitted to holding a BB gun by his side. In Goodwin’s trial, testimony from witnesses including Dyer reveal a night of spice and plotting by Mosley to “hit a lick†(rob someone) with Kitchens and Goodwin in the room. At no point did anyone describe McNeil in the room as a knowing party to an armed robbery. In his statement to police, McNeil, who says he was never read his Miranda rights, is the only one of the accused to not to have provided written acknowledgement of his rights. He stated to police that he believed he left his house to go with Mosley, Kitchens and Goodwin to get something to eat. “Dakota said he wanted to drive to see if a friend of his was home,†Mike stated. “Dakota told me that his friend had some money and that he was going to get the money.†McNeil said he realized Goodwin went into the trailer with a “fake gun†and, after a few minutes, went inside the trailer with a black T-shirt over his face and saw “Antonio was holding a gun down by his side†and told Kitchens to “come on.â€
According to Hand, McNeil’s former attorney, prosecutors intend to put a gun in McNeil’s hand during trial even though it contradicts early witness statements and the original release by police. “All of the descriptions have, let’s say, evolved,†says Hand.
Hand is familiar with many aspects of the case. He represented Tyler Smith on drug trafficking charges, which he pleaded down to a misdemeanor. Smith owned the trailer and his credibility will be at issue if he is called to testify. Although he wasn’t home at the night of the robbery, it was Smith’s lockbox that was taken. It would test positive for marijuana residue. The McNeils do not believe Hand represented their best interest by taking the Smith case and have sought new counsel for Mike’s trial.
Living on
Inside the living room of the McNeil home, next to a brick fireplace, Mike plays a mini game of catch with his pig-tailed daughter, who turned 5 this week. “We went to her school and ate cupcakes,†says Mike. “It was fun.†As a father, he says he can’t stand the thought of what might happen if he is found guilty and sentenced to 21 years to life. “My daughter is the most amazing part of my life,†he says. His friends describe him as a genuine Christian, active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at Auburn, and a solid father. “He puts his daughter first,†says Blanc. “When we lived together, he was always the responsible teammate, the one other young guys could look up to.â€
No one in the McNeil family would say Mike displayed good judgment in putting himself in a bad position during the night of the robbery. “But does that add up to 21 to life?†says Clifton, Mike’s grandfather. “Why so harsh? Why has he been portrayed the way he has when everyone knows what’s been in the media is wrong?â€
In a news piece for Al.com (representing The Birmingham News, Press-Register and The Huntsville Times), a story dated May 21, 2011, ran with this headline: “Former Auburn Player Mike McNeil Was Twice Evicted, Facing Lawsuit When Alleged Armed Robbery Took Place.†The story circulated around the Web to sites such as SB Nation, where its blogger noted: “Committing felonies, especially those involving firearms is usually a really bad idea, but at least this development gives the public a little bit of perspective. Last week, most people were probably wondering, ‘Why would those guys do something so stupid?’ Well…now you know, I guess.â€
There was one major omission in the story: McNeil and his teammates, Mike Blanc and Nieko Thorpe, were on the leases but not behind on their rent. Their rent checks were cut from their Auburn scholarships. “All of our rent was paid up two months in advance, but our scholarship doesn’t cover someone else’s rent,†says Blanc. The fourth person on the lease, who was not a player, was the individual who was behind but Al.com did not note that fact and did not receive confirmation of its information from the leasing agencies or players involved. When contacted, the writer of that story, Evan Woodbery, who no longer works for Al.com, recalled that the reporting was based on an online records search by a court reporter. He made calls for confirmation but no one returned them. The McNeils say they were never called. In the story, Woodbery writes, “An Auburn spokesperson said Thorpe would not be available to speak about the matter.â€
Why wouldn’t Auburn offer Thorpe a chance to clarify the matter? “It’s crazy,†says Thorpe. “We were told not to talk to Mike or about Mike.†Over the past two years, McNeil has been attending school at Livingstone College, where he had sought to play football but Auburn obstructed the NCAA transfer process. “Auburn went out of its way to make sure he didn’t get on a football field,†says Clifton McNeil. “Why have they treated him with such harm? Why target him?â€
“Auburn went out of its way to make sure he didn’t get on a football field,†says Clifton McNeil. “Why have they treated him with such harm? Why target him?â€
For months, Clifton tried to get answers but was rebuffed by Chizik when he requested meetings. Chizik, now a contributor to ESPN, was bought out for $7.5 million after he was fired. The money is bigger than ever in college football, an industry that players enter when they are 18 and 19 years old. “My son had 50 scholarship offers and could have gone anywhere in the country,†says Melodie Campbell. “The coaches come and they sit in your home and they look you in the face and say, ‘We love your son. He’s one of the family; this is not about football.â€â€™
Football is the gateway to an education and, in Mike McNeil’s case, a possible NFL career. “Football comes from a place that is deep for Michael,†says Campbell. “His biggest regret is that his father never had a chance to see him. … My husband was killed during the summer right before he was going to sign up. I went and signed him up.†The death of his father had a lasting, almost daily, impact on Mike. He wore his father’s shorts under his uniform as a child, knotting up the waistband, until he finally grew into them in high school. “Mike was known as the touchdown king as a kid,†says Campbell. “Every time, he would kiss his fingertips and wave at the sky. That was for his father.â€
Mike McNeil has no intention of losing out on his father’s dream for him. He will fight the charges vigorously, with his family by his side and the university that once wooed him as one of the nation’s top recruits nowhere to be found.
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New allegations - and from one of our own, Selena Roberts. Why??? What is her goal here? It's like reporters just sit around and go "hey I wonder what old shit we can dig up on Auburn today".
http://www.roopstigo.com/reader/auburns_vainted_title_victims_violations_and_vendettas_for_glory/
Too long to post all of article...click link if you wish.
Published on April 3, 2013
Auburn’s Tainted Title
Victims, Violations and Vendettas for Glory
By Selena Roberts
Her calls went straight to voicemail. Her texts went unreturned. By mid-morning on March 11, 2011, the mother of Auburn University star safety Mike McNeil felt the shudder of a parental alarm go off in her mind. Where was Melodie Campbell’s son? His college roommates hadn’t seen him. He was absent from team workouts. He hadn’t been admitted to a hospital. Vanished.
Campbell would discover what happened to her son over a timeline that may prove to be a tripwire to imploding a powerful and storied athletic institution. In Auburn, Ala., the influence of its behemoth college football program can be traced by the river of money that flows through the local businesses at Toomer’s Corner and spills into the coffers of millionaire coaches who occupy the 88,0000 square-foot athletics complex. That Campbell was the last to know of her son’s fate over a five-hour search for answers raises serious questions about Auburn University’s role in a felony case and illuminates a culture seemingly unhinged from institutional control:
Noon — Contacting the Auburn city police, Campbell discovers Mike is at the station. Insisting on answers, she is transferred to an official who refers to himself as Capt. Welch. The only Capt. Welch listed on the force is Corey Welch. “At first he gave me the run-around and I said, ‘Look, I’m in Mobile (Ala.). Do I need to get there?’†recalls Campbell. “And he said, ‘Oh, no, Mrs. Campbell, you don’t need to be up here. We’re just waiting for Coach to come. This has been a big misunderstanding, a college prank gone wrong.’ He kept saying, ‘We’re going to handle this internally. We’re not allowing the media to know; and we’re keeping it all under wraps here. Just stay there and wait to get a call from the coach.’ I said, ‘Wait, I have the right to know what my son has been charged with.’ And he said, ‘No, it’s not like that.’â€
12:30 p.m. — Campbell’s father, Clifton McNeil, a former NFL receiver with Pro Bowl credentials who helped rear his grandson since Mike was 7 and his father was murdered, calls Capt. Welch to see if he can gather more information. He also is told: “Don’t worry. Everything will be handled internally.†Clifton then calls Mike’s position coach, Tommy Thigpen. “He tells me to ‘hold tight. Coach (Gene) Chizik will call and tell you what’s going on,’†McNeil recalls.
1:30 p.m. — Still unable to reach Mike, the family decides to drive to Auburn. Melodie, her younger son, Pat, Clifton and his wife, Ruby – Melodie’s mother and Mike’s grandmother – climb into an SUV for the 3-hour drive.
3:30 p.m. — Outside of Montgomery, Ala., the family pulls over. Clifton receives a call from Chizik that lasts less than 30 seconds. As Clifton recalls, Chizik says he is sorry but he has to kick Mike off the team because the charges are serious. What charges? Chizik doesn’t say. He only tells Clifton he is about to inform the press.
4 p.m. — As the drive to Auburn continues, a radio report fills in the details that neither Chizik nor police would discuss with the family. Four Auburn players — Mike McNeil, Dakota Mosley, Shaun Kitchens and Antonio Goodwin — have been arrested and charged with five counts of armed robbery. Unknown to the McNeils, Auburn police had disseminated a press release just after the family began its journey to the university. “We had family calling us from California saying it’s all over ESPN,†recalls Campbell. “By the time we got up to Auburn, Mike was being arraigned.â€
On April 8, more than two years later, Mike McNeil is scheduled to go to trial for armed robbery. If convicted, he could face 21 years to life in prison. For two years, Mike has maintained he is innocent of all charges. He has declined plea deals that would allow him to serve three years, even after the first of the four accused players, Antonio Goodwin, was in court last spring and found guilty. Goodwin was sentenced to 15 straight years and is serving his sentence at Kirby Correctional Facility in Montgomery, Ala. “To show you how innocent he is, Mike is willing to go to trial because he says he didn’t do it,†says Ben Hand, who recently was dismissed as McNeil’s attorney after the family formally complained that he had a conflict of interest. “Mike McNeil didn’t rob anyone.â€
How did Mike McNeil end up with a trial date on such severe charges? Was he afforded due process? Did police follow proper procedure? Have authorities relied on testimony from five victims that night or their changing accounts months later? For nearly 14 hours after they were first detained at around 12:25 a.m. on March 11, McNeil, Goodwin, Mosley and Kitchens spent most of their time in a holding cell, sometimes sleeping, other times talking to authorities. “They said, ‘We’re not booking y’all,†recalls Mike. “They said, ‘We’re waiting for the coaches.’â€
Auburn athletic officials declined comment when contacted by Roopstigo. Auburn police refused comment and referred all questions to District Attorney Robert Treese. Messages left with the Lee County court administrator for Treese went unreturned. Chizik did not answer calls made to a cell phone for him and a spokesperson for ESPN, where he has been a guest analyst, said they could not help reach him.
To this day, no one from the university has talked to the family. After Mike McNeil posted a $511,000 bond, Police Chief Tommy Dawson told McNeil’s then-attorney that even though he was innocent until proven guilty, Mike would be arrested for trespassing if he set foot on campus. “In my 22 years,†Hand said, “I’d never heard of anything like that happening to a student.†In a team meeting, players were told by coaches not to contact any of the accused or risk losing their scholarship. “Mike was like a brother,†says Nieko Thorpe, a former Auburn defensive back who plays for the Kansas City Chiefs. “I wanted to talk to my brother. I’m sure, with all that was going on, he felt betrayed.â€
Mike felt isolated and in the crosshairs of a program’s politics. “It made me feel like they were saying, ‘He’s expendable; we can use him as a scapegoat,’†Mike says. Until the robbery allegations, he had never been in legal trouble or termed a problem player. “He was the best teammate you could imagine,†says former Tigers linebacker Daren Bates. “He took me under his wing. He would draw up defenses. And we’d watch film. He was a mentor to everyone.†At 6-2, 208 pounds, Mike was viewed as an NFL prospect after recovering from a broken leg in 2009 to become a star in 2010, capping it with a team-high 14 tackles, including a sack and a touchdown-saving stop, in the BCS Championship against Oregon. He was reared in a two-story brick home in the suburbs of Mobile as a member of a well-respected, spiritual family. “Mike didn’t need money,†Hand said. “There is no motive.â€
“Mike didn’t need money,†Hand said. “There is no motive.â€
What motive would Auburn have to interfere? In the months leading up to the robbery, Auburn had been dealing with behavioral issues involving players. Allegations that then-quarterback Cam Newton was part of a pay-to-play scheme further fueled the image of a rogue school lacking discipline. “Maybe there is a fear in Auburn’s mind that Michael knows too much,†says Clifton. “Their fear is that Michael will expose the family secret. It’s a way to silence him.â€
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Mods, merge this thread with mine.
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She ain't got shit on us. We've been redeemed. The NCAA's done warshed away all our sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's our reward.
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Who the hell is Selena Roberts and what is this roostypoot she writes for. Never heard of it. Obviously not journalism. There is a story about why McNeil faces such a stiff sentence and I can understand two sides of the argument. Maybe he was just along for the ride. Maybe he didn't know they were about to rob someone.
Regardless, what in the hell does all of the smearing of AU have to do with that argument? Notta damn thing. Idiotic logic and a stupid story. That's all.
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Hammer's coming to Turdtown soon if they have started this kind of shit up again.
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Mods, merge this thread with mine.
Within seconds of each other. My bad.
Merge away
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This is such horseshit. "Oh Fuck, our inside guy at the NCAA is getting fucked, let's print a smear piece about Auburn."
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This is such horseshit. "Oh Fuck, our inside guy at the NCAA is getting fucked, let's print a smear piece about Auburn."
It's a process
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So, the multiple player quoted, are now coming out saying they either don't know this woman or that they didn't give her those quotes. Hmmm, paid story from the bammers. Try harder motherfuckers.
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This is such horseshit. "Oh Fuck, our inside guy at the NCAA is getting fucked, let's print a smear piece about Auburn."
Inside guy?
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So, the multiple player quoted, are now coming out saying they either don't know this woman or that they didn't give her those quotes. Hmmm, paid story from the bammers. Try harder motherfuckers.
This will fall apart just like the HBO story.
Inside guy?
He forgot the "s": inside guys.
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I think the question we should really ask is, did Mike have anything to do with his?
Or was he really just in the wrong place. And if he had nothing to do with it, why was he in the trailer? Or was he ever in the trailer?
I know that if I were innocent, I would be getting the other guys to exonerate me, or I would be on trial for 3 murders.
The more we here about this story, the uglier it gets. From every angle.
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So it took basically two years to put this little hit piece together? Interesting.
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(http://imageshack.us/a/img256/8278/thuglifen.jpg)
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LMAO!!!!
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Hammer's coming to Turdtown soon if they have started this kind of shit up again.
We once had a member that is MIA that once said (and I'm paraphrasing) if shit is getting uncomfortable for the bastards across the state, expect a smear campaign against us.
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I may be alone here but I am one who thinks that this chick has nothing to do with the bammers. I personally think if anything, she is trying to use this to catapult here website into the light. Basically what we have is a story generated to save My McNurra that turned into a "reporter" contacting all MM's friends tricking them into "helping" him out. If this chick doesn't have some sort of audio of all these so called quotes, she could be in some hot water. If she does, however, this could get much worse.
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(http://theauburner.com/images/espnreport.jpg)
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Check this article out. A little more info on Selena Roberts.
http://trackemtigers.com/?p=14262
I didn't know she was involved in the Duke Lacrosse deal.
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ENOUGH!
Where is the leadership standing up against this? Do any of you think Alabama would just lay there and take this? Would Kentucky lay there and take it?
NO!
WHEN WILL THESE PEOPLE DO SOMETHING?!?
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Alabama doesn't have to do anything other than say they looked into it and sent a letter. Then Mark Emmert will say, "Well done".
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Since the AU administration has continually adopted a "no response" posture to this type of shit (the merits of such are debatable), maybe we can hope that Jeremy Foley will go to bat to protect Muschamp from these allegations.
Also, if you're not following @GabeThaGreat (fake Gabe Wright account), you're missing a vigorous defense of AU in this matter. Also follow @TheProwler64 for the same.
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I bet Finebaum iss kicking puppies right now without a stage.
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Long past time for Auburn to go on the offensive. I say we funnel our money, secretly hire some PIs who do nothing but dig up the deepest and darkest shit on people like Selena Roberts, Thammel, Evans, and all the other douchebags that love to slander Auburn. An AU CIA agency if you will. From there create a website dedicated to all the info that is found. Kinda like TMZ but instead of celebs we focus on shitty reporters and drag their ass through the mud any chance we get.
Look, I know this shit sounds looney but I'm fucking tired of this shit. Everytime Auburn has been successful or Uat is in danger (atleast in my 34 years) there is always some kind of smear campaign soon afterwards. Seriously, Auburn alumni, fans, and students need get their shit organized and start cutting MFers off at the knees. Its time to take down the REC and their lenchmen.
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Apparently Roberts was on the ATL sports radio show this morning and Dimico ripped her up. She claims to have the interview tapes, but won't release them.
Scotty Moore applauds you, mommy part.
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Apparently Roberts was on the ATL sports radio show this morning and Dimico ripped her up. She claims to have the interview tapes, but won't release them.
Scotty Moore applauds you, mommy part.
Was that before or after they had the guy who wrote the USA Today article about Emmert and Saban on?
Oh.....wait.
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The 2010 BCSC came with a high price tag, and I don't mean what we paid for Cam. There are some of the crimson hoard that will not rest until they can say with complete certainty that Auburn bought a NC, and had to give it back. Fuck facts, fuck investigation by the NCAA, FBI, and other "real agencies" in addition to every internet sleuth that sports a greasy houndstooth hat with a script A, they don't give a damn. They won't rest until they can say "Auburn still only has one NC, and it was over 50 years ago."
When will the idiots learn that disgruntled players, players facing conviction and real prison time for things like Robbery, players who have sued Auburn and gotten nothing for it....they simply don't make credible witnesses in trying to take down the Auburn program in the absence of any real evidence?
Fuck this greasy mommy part with a bag of goat aids infected dicks.
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The 2010 BCSC came with a high price tag, and I don't mean what we paid for Cam. There are some of the crimson hoard that will not rest until they can say with complete certainty that Auburn bought a NC, and had to give it back. Fuck facts, fuck investigation by the NCAA, FBI, and other "real agencies" in addition to every internet sleuth that sports a greasy houndstooth hat with a script A, they don't give a damn. They won't rest until they can say "Auburn still only has one NC, and it was over 50 years ago."
When will the idiots learn that disgruntled players, players facing conviction and real prison time for things like Robbery, players who have sued Auburn and gotten nothing for it....they simply don't make credible witnesses in trying to take down the Auburn program in the absence of any real evidence?
Fuck this greasy mommy part with a bag of goat aids infected dicks.
Spot on. Especially that last sentence.
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The 2010 BCSC came with a high price tag, and I don't mean what we paid for Cam. There are some of the crimson hoard that will not rest until they can say with complete certainty that Auburn bought a NC, and had to give it back. Fuck facts, fuck investigation by the NCAA, FBI, and other "real agencies" in addition to every internet sleuth that sports a greasy houndstooth hat with a script A, they don't give a damn. They won't rest until they can say "Auburn still only has one NC, and it was over 50 years ago."
When will the idiots learn that disgruntled players, players facing conviction and real prison time for things like Robbery, players who have sued Auburn and gotten nothing for it....they simply don't make credible witnesses in trying to take down the Auburn program in the absence of any real evidence?
Fuck this greasy mommy part with a bag of goat aids infected dicks.
I heart you
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McNeil is far from a sympathetic character at this point, but I do feel kind of bad for the kid. He's getting used by Roberts so that she can get her moment in the spotlight and will be discarded as soon as he catches his 21 year prison term.
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I find this very interesting.
What you need to know about Ms. Roberts is this: She has a history of penning scathing accusations of sports institutions and athletes. She has lost jobs with Sports Illustrated and the New York Times, and is now writing for some obscure web outfit called “roopstigo.†One example of her work is the “Duke Lacrosse rape scandal†of about seven years ago. She did her best to demonize those players, twisting some facts to fit her agenda, and seemingly outright making many more up.
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http://www.thewareaglereader.com/2013/04/selena-and-auburn/#.UV2QVzeK58F
Selena and Auburn
Written by John Carvalho Sports Apr 4, 2013
“… and Selena Roberts tries to keep from falling off the limbâ€â€”Selena Roberts finished in last place in the Plainsman staff’s season-long football picks feature in 1987, the year she served as Assistant Sports Editor.
When the Roopstigo story by Selena Roberts hit on Wednesday, I was busy getting ready for a 6 p.m. Sports, Media, and Culture graduate class. While we did talk about it a little, mainly we talked about research on sports talk radio and social media. Not as exciting, but it’s what the State of Alabama pays me to do.
That being said, and getting beyond my post-class fog (150 minutes of methodologies and hypotheses will do that), I do have some random thoughts on the article and its author:
The Kelly Jolley principle. In discussing the Cam Newton situation on this site a couple years ago, Dr. Jolley, a philosophy professor, uncorked a gem that I’m going to steal. He cited the saying, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.†He corrected it: “Where there’s smoke, there’s smoke.†To infer more than that requires more than smoke. Think about that as you read any such article.
I’m all for reporting fire. I applauded the reporting on Jetgate in 2004, and the sociology independent study scandal in 2006. I am proud of The Plainsman’s reporting on excessive trustee influence in the 1990s. But smoke is just annoying.
Is there a trial coming up? It is not surprising that Roberts would be granted such access to McNeil and his family with his trial coming up. This is a familiar tactic for attorneys: Help the media to make the case right before the trial starts.
The article does point out that the family is seeking a new attorney, because McNeil’s previous attorney, Ben Hand, is also representing one of the alleged victims of the robbery. So the trial might be delayed. That could be decided Thursday (today) at 3:30 p.m. If so, the advantageous timing will be lost.
Knowing that Dakota Mosley is being represented by Davis Whittlesey, an attorney who helped write the book that every trick is found in, you can be sure that he has done the same to create a similar article for his client.
Journalists are supposed to be aware of their sources’ motives. When a source leaks information to you that will sabotage a project he/she opposes, you take that into account. Did Roberts consider the source?
The tapes, please? Both Mike Blanc and Neiko Thorpe allege that Roberts misquoted them. I would encourage her to post the unedited tapes of the interviews online and let the public decide.
Web sites do this all the time with such interviews, so people who want more information can listen. This would be one of those situations.
One thing to keep in mind: In Alabama, it is legal to record a telephone conversation without the other person’s knowledge or consent. Some states require both parties to consent; Alabama is a “one-party†state. The reporter can offer consent, but that is an ethical choice, not a legal one.
So Blanc and Thorpe could have been recorded without their knowledge. They also could have recorded the interview with Roberts’ knowledge. (For future reference: hint, hint.) All we can do is wait to see what turns up.
Contradictions. As has been noted by several folks on Twitter, the information in Roberts’ article seems to be contradictory. Did the coaches control the athletes too much, or not enough? Did Auburn try to stonewall the police or encourage the arrest?
It could be Roberts’ tactic to leave the information out there for the reader to decide. But reading should be a less frustrating process. The writer should help guide the reader through the information.
One common criticism of online articles is that they are published too quickly and lack editing. This article falls into that category. It needed a good, book-style overall edit, for the reader’s sake.
The changed grade. Perhaps the most troublesome accusation McNeil makes is that his grade in one class was changed from an F to a C. He accuses a football counselor of getting the grade changed. If that is true, someone’s in trouble.
This is a serious accusation, but also could be libelous. The academic counselor could be identified by anyone with knowledge, so that is libel per quod. The academic counselor is likely a private individual, not a public figure, so the level of fault is not actual malice (printing something you know to be false), but negligence (departure from the accepted standards of journalism).
In these cases, the reporter is expected to do something to confirm information given by a person facing criminal charges. Contact the counselor, or ask McNeil for specific information. If that was not done in this case, again, someone’s in trouble.
The missing information on Judge Hughes. Judge Chris Hughes (disclosure: a friend) is mistreated by incomplete information. In another “smoke = fire†paragraph, Roberts makes much of his Auburn connections as an alum. (He got his law degree at the University of Alabama, BTW.)
She quotes McNeil on his difficulties getting to play at Livingstone College in North Carolina, but does not mention that it was Hughes who allowed him to go there while he was free on bail. She also does not mention that Hughes allowed Antonio Goodwin to remain out on bail while awaiting his sentencing, despite the severity of the crime he was convicted of. Court observers were surprised at that; many judges wouldn’t do that.
Such details are just as much a part of the picture. And I am glad for a chance to add them.
Selena and Auburn. It’s hard to phrase this clearly, but I’ll try.
Since I have been at Auburn in 2003, Selena has not come to speak to our students, as journalists came and spoke to her when she was a student. I invited her to come by when she was in town for a book signing in 2005, but she declined, saying that because she wrote about college sports, it would be a conflict of interest. I assume that means that she never speaks at a college ever.
To say that Auburn and Selena Roberts have a complicated relationship would imply that there is a relationship. Here are two components of that relationship, on Auburn’s end:
1) She earned a journalism degree from Auburn. I would think that Auburn faculty helped her develop the skills she has employed in the past 25 years.
2) Even after a cutting two-part report in the New York Times before the 2005 Sugar Bowl, Auburn Magazine put her on its cover in Fall 2009 to help her promote her book on Alex Rodriguez.
I’m not saying that Selena should compose odes in praise of Auburn. It is tough for a journalist to maintain a relationship with and objectivity toward a school, but some respected folks have done that — Rheta Grimsley Johnson and Cynthia Tucker come to mind.
Tim Dorsey, 1982-83 Plainsman editor and now popular crime novelist, compares Auburn to that warning on mirrors: “Objects are closer than they appear.†He says that Auburn looms larger in your life the longer you’ve been away.
Maybe Selena has been focusing on what’s ahead for so many years, going from the New York Times to Sports Illustrated to Roopstigo, that she has neglected to take a glance in her rear-view mirror.
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mommy part is on ESPN Sportscenter right now.
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mommy part is on ESPN Sportscenter right now.
Why not bring on any of the players quoted in the story?
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Why not bring on any of the players quoted in the story?
Because she is full of shit. During the entire interview, they never asked her if she had any evidence. It was just treated as if true. Also, they will be talking about it on Outside the Lines at 3 p.m. too. I'm sure they will get to the bottom of it...
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http://outkickthecoverage.com/lets-give-2010-auburn-full-immunity.php
Let's Give 2010 Auburn Full Immunity
Published on: April 04, 2013 | Written by: Clay Travis
Can we just give every player and coach on the 2010 Auburn title team complete and total immunity in exchange for the whole truth about that season?
At this point anyone with a working brain knows that 2010 Auburn was one of the biggest cheating teams in NCAA history. I mean, just look at the roster of allegations. From buying Cam Newton, to robbing houses, to paying players, to insane amounts of drug use, to illegally recruiting players, to changing grades to keep players eligible, if there's an NCAA rule on the books, 2010 Auburn probably broke it.
Hell, Auburn was such a mess that the school hired private security guards to keep tabs on its own players.
Even 1980's Miami players are like, "Damn, y'all need to chill at Auburn."
In the wake of the Selena Roberts story, there are now ten different players that have pointed the finger at Auburn for cheating over the past several years. What incentive would ten different players have to make up lies about Auburn?
Really, there are none.
Through it all Auburn fans -- a family of cult-like true believers consistently swilling their Cammy-Cam juice -- have insisted that there is nothing to see here, that the media and the world and everyone with a brain who believes that the Tigers cheated is just jealous and out to get Auburn.
Yes, this theory makes perfect sense, because it happens time and again throughout American history that people who don't live in rural Alabama become jealous and obsessed with people who live in rural Alabama.
The NCAA hasn't busted Auburn, AU fans scream.
Is this really a surprise? The NCAA couldn't bust Miami with a full investigative dossier handed over. The NCAA didn't have to even do the work and they screwed it up. The NCAA couldn't convict Osama Bin Laden of terrorism. The NCAA's failure is expected.
Well, the Auburn media...
Please, stop.
If Cam Newton was pissing on their heads, the Auburn media would report that it was raining outside. The Auburn media, a group that actually lives in Auburn and spends every day with the team, has never uncovered any wrongdoing at all. If you've ever wondered what a captured media looks like, the Auburn Tiger reportorial corps is the perfect example. They only want to write stories about puppy dogs and rainbows, the team visiting elementary schools, the biggest cheating enterprise in recent college history was taking place right under their noses and the entire Auburn media has broken not a single negative story about the team.
Think about how crazy this is to pull off. It's a willfull blindness, a complete and total abdication of independent sports reporting.
The lesson?
Access corrupts. Absolute access corrupts absolutely.
We all know Auburn cheated. (Deep down even the most diehard Auburn fan knows this. You argue most aggressively against the things you secretly know are true).
The 2010 Auburn team is like Al Capone back in his heydey, they're going to slide on the big violations and eventually they're going to get hit with the equivalent of a tax evasion charge. My best guess? Excessive meal plan usage.
So I've got a solution to everything, let's give total immunity to 2010 Auburn players and coaches in exchange for the whole truth about the season.
I'm willing to do this because I'm certain the stories are so amazing.
Can you imagine what Cam and his dad would say about how they got the money, what they did with it, what shady individuals were involved in the transfer of cash? Think about what the meetings with the Auburn brain trust were like as they scrambled to find fig leafs to cover up blatant NCAA cheating. Where did all the cash come from to pay players, who was funneling it into the program? How did the players spend the cash? Having $500 to spend on a night out in Auburn is like having $10k in Vegas. How wild were the parties and the drug use? How corrupt and complicit was the local police force? Has Mike Dyer ever actually been inside an Auburn classroom? Can you imagine Gene Chizik's speeches, twirling the AU leather jacket around his head while he foamed at the mouth. I mean, good Lord, Gene Chizik won a national title, how big of an upset was this? That's like Lindsay Lohan winning the Nobel Prize. How many players were actually illiterate? What about Jonna Chizik's inevitable prayer meetings to combat NCAA injustices? How many guns were confiscated during the season? What kind of crazy stuff was Kristi Malzahn doing all season? Can you imagine Jonna and Kristi being interviewed about the season?
The entire scope of potential true stories is just unbelievable and mind-boggling entertainment.
At some point the 2010 Auburn season is going to make one hell of a 30 for 30 movie for ESPN.
So why not just give immunity to everyone in exchange for these stories right now?
Wouldn't it be worth it?
I think so.
I'm All In.
How about y'all?
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http://outkickthecoverage.com/lets-give-2010-auburn-full-immunity.php
Can't believe you gave that ass any traffic.
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To his credit, Joe Schad tweeted this.
@schadjoe 6m
Michael Dyer said be was "never even close" to being academically ineligible prior to BCS Game, per Uncle Andre
Of course, responses were things like this:
@MandMSportshow 6m
@schadjoe he also said he was going to restart his life and be a good boy at arkansas state...
@WilsonAaronM 3m
@schadjoe and you believe anything that basketcase says? Typical espn 'journalist.' You have perfected the art of reporting.
@UVAnwest 2m
@schadjoe yeah, because he has SO much credibility.
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http://outkickthecoverage.com/lets-give-2010-auburn-full-immunity.php
(http://troll.me/images/clay-travis/i-have-a-law-degree-but-got-rich-being-a-faggot.jpg)
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http://outkickthecoverage.com/lets-give-2010-auburn-full-immunity.php
(http://troll.me/images/clay-travis/i-shaved-my-wifes-pussy-and-glued-the-hair-to-my-face-thumb.jpg)
(http://troll.me/images/clay-travis/have-you-seen-my-wife-she-used-to-suck-eddie-georges-dick-thumb.jpg)
(http://troll.me/images/clay-travis/i-refuse-to-drink-the-doolaid-but-ill-chug-the-shit-out-of-franklins-jizz-thumb.jpg)
(http://troll.me/images/clay-travis/my-wife-says-james-franklin-isnt-really-black-she-says-there-is-no-way-i-could-swallow-a-real-black-mans-dick-thumb.jpg)
(http://troll.me/images/clay-travis/i-named-my-book-dixieland-delight-because-dicks-are-delightful-thumb.jpg)
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBT4_3CQAECnA5.jpg)
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To his credit, Joe Schad tweeted this.
Of course, responses were things like this:
I read somewhere that he just made the deans list and has been clean a while now. Fuck them
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She just back tracked so bad about "the tapes" and changed the subject on WJOX... This is so much bullshit. Of course they didn't call her out about that.
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Currently back tracking...again...
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Currently back tracking...again...
Will Cliff give notes?
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If the "sources" aren't willing to back her on her story, it's only another shitty attempt at journalism. Amazing that someone can write bs like this and still get paid. This is a blogging piece and really isn't even a story. McNeils case, yes, it's a story. The AU hit piece part is blogging material like Shane would have written. Or, any 7th grader with a computer.
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Douchebag WJOX Lunch guy: "Let's talk about the tapes..."
mommy part Face: "Well, I dont think it's about the tapes. It's more about a culture of the administration, internet culture, etc..."
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Has there ever been a place (Auburn) where more tapes were have been reported to be made but yet never existed?
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Here's the bottom line on this. Whatever this mommy part's motivation for doing this...whatever the reason....the damage is done. Probably more damage than the Cam fiasco. Just got back from a store that had a TV on. ESPN playing. Two guys walking by and one pointed up at the TV and said, "Uh oh, scandal at Auburn". Driving back and listening to sports talk. The host was obviously talking about this and said Colin Cowherd, who has the show just before his, said it's not the actual allegations, it's the number of allegations and he now believe them. Too many for them not to be true. The host went on to say, "I'm looking at ESPN's website and the headline reads Auburn paid players, changed grades."
He said somewhere in a small town in Massachusetts, some guy is having lunch and sees those headlines and is shaking his head asking himself why the NCAA doesn't shut that school down. As that NTYF article so aptly pointed out, it never stops. Perception becomes reality. Truth no longer matters. Say it enough times and it becomes reality. Unless Selena Roberts is exposed as a bold faced liar....that she was put up to this...whatever....she doesn't have to say another word. The damage is done and she's accomplished exactly what she set out to do. Whatever that may be.
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Unless Selena Roberts is exposed as a bold faced liar....that she was put up to this...whatever....she doesn't have to say another word. The damage is done and she's accomplished exactly what she set out to do. Whatever that may be.
Let’s say this is found to be just a hatchet job, no proof, nothing. Why not as the administration go after her for labial/Slander. Take her ass to court to prove she has the tapes. It may not make this one go away but may put the thought of I better watch what I say with no proof in somebody else. And if you’re thought process is it will just make look bad, Please reference articles where someone writes about us in a positive note. :facepalm:
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Let’s say this is found to be just a hatchet job, no proof, nothing. Why not as the administration go after her for labial/Slander. Take her ass to court to prove she has the tapes. It may not make this one go away but may put the thought of I better watch what I say with no proof in somebody else. And if you’re thought process is it will just make look bad, Please reference articles where someone writes about us in a positive note. :facepalm:
labial? I really don't care to see Selena's labial.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBUxDjCMAAAqtP.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBYsbvCMAETZ2X.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBgNpCCIAIbVNz.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBhH1ZCIAEk_vx.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBiIfjCAAAaNAu.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBjHrCCYAEmeb_.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBlxR5CUAIEGTn.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBlxR5CUAIEGTn.jpg:large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBqbpdCUAAQOdM.jpg:large)
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Here's the bottom line on this. Whatever this mommy part's motivation for doing this...whatever the reason....the damage is done.
The damage is done and she's accomplished exactly what she set out to do. Whatever that may be.
Bingo. This ^^ is what it was all about. No matter how credible or not she turns about to be. What's seen and heard cannot be undone.
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Let’s say this is found to be just a hatchet job, no proof, nothing. Why not as the administration go after her for labial/Slander. Take her ass to court to prove she has the tapes. It may not make this one go away but may put the thought of I better watch what I say with no proof in somebody else. And if you’re thought process is it will just make look bad, Please reference articles where someone writes about us in a positive note. :facepalm:
I said that during Cam gate. Until someone gets all legal on that ass, these reporters will keep doing it.
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Yeah those were funny Chad. just stolet
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Damn, what a strong message from Jay Jacobs. I have a new found respect for this guy after the way he ripped into Roberts and defended Auburn. Maybe we were wrong about him.
Oh wait, that was NTYF and not Jacobs? My bad.
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Damn, what a strong message from Jay Jacobs. I have a new found respect for this guy after the way he ripped into Roberts and defended Auburn. Maybe we were wrong about him.
Oh wait, that was NTYF and not Jacobs? My bad.
I feel sorry for Jays Husband.
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From Walter McFadden
@Wheezy6: We def didn't get any grades change! Darvin Adams Really, our star WR was Montez Billings he had grade problems he didn't play! REALLY
@Wheezy6: Come on, Really! Grade Change! We have monthly grade reports to see how you we doing? Our athletic department was on top of it!!!!!!
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Ms. mommy part says what...as many as 9 players had grades changed to make them eligible for the MNCG? That would most likely be 9 different classes....9 different professors. So not one professor came forward to complain that his/her grade got changed. And....wasn't the NCAA on campus all during this time frame? So Chizik or someone just picked up the phone while the NCAA was ripping everything apart and said, "Hey, I'm gonna' need these 9 players grades changed so they can play. Mmmkthxbai"
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Ms. mommy part says what...as many as 9 players had grades changed to make them eligible for the MNCG? That would most likely be 9 different classes....9 different professors. So not one professor came forward to complain that his/her grade got changed. And....wasn't the NCAA on campus all during this time frame? So Chizik or someone just picked up the phone while the NCAA was ripping everything apart and said, "Hey, I'm gonna' need these 9 players grades changed so they can play. Mmmkthxbai"
It's called bullshit...and that mommy part reeks of it.
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http://www.thewareaglereader.com/2013/04/selena-and-auburn/#.UV2QVzeK58F
That carvallo guy is an enormous self-important bag of warm douche water.
Did anything he say make sense?
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That carvallo guy is an enormous self-important bag of warm douche water.
Did anything he say make sense?
So he is basically you?
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Fuck Selena Roberts with PChamp's wiener.
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So he is basically you?
Aye caramba!
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Aye caramba!
I love it when you talk dirty in Italian
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That carvallo guy is an enormous self-important bag of warm douche water.
Did anything he say make sense?
So he is basically you?
I have been down this road, it is bumpy and not a fun ride. I dare say it is unkeen.
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I have been down this road, it is bumpy and not a fun ride. I dare say it is unkeen.
Agreed. However, this is probably a case of hit and run.
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(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BHBYsbvCMAETZ2X.jpg:large)
ha ha...thanks for the avatar.
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Looks like the offseason has kicked into high gear..
http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/9135194/twelve-auburn-tigers-football-players-failed-synthetic-pot-tests
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http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2013/04/post_465.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
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Damn, got to get it while the gettn is good! Wow!
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Chizik's statement in full: http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/oanow.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/f/c3/fc3c44ea-9d66-11e2-b525-001a4bcf6878/515de40b0bbf1.pdf.pdf
Joe Schad @schadjoe 3m
Former Alabama DB Dre Kirkpatrick said that Auburn players spent little or no money on him during his recruiting visit.
Joe Schad @schadjoe 1m
"We went to a house party with no cover," Kirkpatrick said. "Nobody gave me money. Nobody spent money on me." (Alleged $500)
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Listen to this mommy part about the 7 minute mark and down. http://www.790thezone.com/podcasts/Episodes.aspx?PID=2610
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new gameday sign
SPECIOUS
SOURCES
SELENA
ROBERTS
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I swear to God that I'm gonna punch one of these inbred motherfuckers right in their throat if they say something else to me about this shit.
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Gregg Doyle and Jason Whitlock have both expressed some extreme skepticism on the Roberts story.
There appear to be some journalists who are interested in facts, at least.
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Gregg Doyle and Jason Whitlock have both expressed some extreme skepticism on the Roberts story.
There appear to be some journalists who are interested in facts, at least.
Doyel was in our corner in 2010 too.
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Even Finebaum smells bullshit.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=9132913
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The fuckin Grim Reaper must be at uat's door step, in less than 24 hours there's two stories about how Evil Auburn Athletics is, with all the known Auburn hating journalists foaming at the mouth and presenting everything as fact, eventhough they never once did any fact checking beforehand. IMO, this stench smells just like the whole Cam Witch Hunt that I believe was backed by uat and ALL of their connections (ESPN, NYT, etc, etc, the entire State media, etc, etc, etc, Finebaum, etc, Sheridan, Scott Moore, etc)
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I hardly post, but I hope some of you people that can better relay thoughts and such use this and spread it as far as you can.
I guess this "reporter" plagiarizes also.
"There is every reason to doubt many of the unsubstantiated accusations in Selena Roberts' book about Alex Rodriguez, which her former New York Times colleague Murray Chass calls a "journalistic abomination." I have my own Roberts story, although I have never met the woman. Years back, when Mike Danton was accused of trying to bump off agent David Frost, she lifted several quotes from an exclusive interview I did with Frost and basically rewrote my work for the Times, crediting the Toronto Star. When I contacted her and requested a correction, she never replied. The ombudsman from the Times said he would look into it. He never got back to me, either ... One more quick Roberts story: She was the journalist who screamed loudest about the apparent rape involving lacrosse players at Duke University. She wrote vigilantly about it, almost all of it proving to be untrue upon further examination
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/steve_simmons/2009/05/10/9410576-sun.html
And just for shit and grins...
http://www.murraychass.com/?p=700
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I hardly post, but I hope some of you people that can better relay thoughts and such use this and spread it as far as you can.
I guess this "reporter" plagiarizes also.
"There is every reason to doubt many of the unsubstantiated accusations in Selena Roberts' book about Alex Rodriguez, which her former New York Times colleague Murray Chass calls a "journalistic abomination." I have my own Roberts story, although I have never met the woman. Years back, when Mike Danton was accused of trying to bump off agent David Frost, she lifted several quotes from an exclusive interview I did with Frost and basically rewrote my work for the Times, crediting the Toronto Star. When I contacted her and requested a correction, she never replied. The ombudsman from the Times said he would look into it. He never got back to me, either ... One more quick Roberts story: She was the journalist who screamed loudest about the apparent rape involving lacrosse players at Duke University. She wrote vigilantly about it, almost all of it proving to be untrue upon further examination
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/steve_simmons/2009/05/10/9410576-sun.html
And just for shoot and grins...
http://www.murraychass.com/?p=700
This is good stuff and shows what kind of reporter Senena is. Unfortunately, she's one of ours--or was. Bad example for Auburn. She is lazy, lies, rips off other folks work and sensationalizes. So, she should be very successful as a "journalist" in this day.
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Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
To all my Auburn friends, ESPN has declared your downfall. Please have everything boxed up & town evacuated by noon.
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
ESPN E:60 piece starts with "there was always an air of impropriety around Auburn's 2010 Nat'l Champ football team," ...
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
... sort of like there's always an air around conference realignment that ESPN influences it?
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
There's "an air around" something is a phrase used when there's no evidence to support a belief/hope/opinion you have. Nice work ESPN
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
E:60 report continues with "we've been rocked by another report that's being talked about on the Plains." Auburn, are you rocked?
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
The angel and devil are at work on each shoulder fighting over whether I should watch & tweet the rest of this nonsense.
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
To be an Auburn person is to have your school attacked, fairly or not, every so often - more when the football team is successful.
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
As an Auburn alum, I slept soundly last night... until that high speed cop-motorcycle chase outside my condo at 1:02 AM.
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
If there's impropriety, go after it w/ gusto, but what I can't figure is why so many WANT to believe AU cheats despite lack of evidence
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
I read @SBJSBD religiously, but I must have missed edition where Danny Sheridan was named ESPN head of programming #bagman
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
"A scourge" of synthetic marijuana use on team.... ESPN & Roberts pepper reports w/ trigger words like this to make eh story seem scandalous
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
"An 8 month dead zone where a lot of bad things happened," E:60. Oy. "Bad things?" care to elaborate?
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
Obvious to me that in researching story on AU "spice" use, everyone on E:60 began using heavy dosages of product
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
AU could have suspended players for failing drug test regarding substance not in drug policy...& have been sued by every one of them
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
To believe E:60 story is to believe AU only team w/ players using "spice" & AU only school w/ a drug policy that didn't address it
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
E:60 reporter does a great job "looking" like a serious journalist w/ his mussed hair & ill-fitting sport coat #fatguyinalittlecoat
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
OK. Enough. I work for a living. Enjoy your day. Drink a beer. #wareagle Wind blows highest at top. Sticks & stones...
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
One final thing: I worked at ESPN in Bristol from '03-'07. I do not recall being drug tested there ever.
Expand
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
Problem is when a lie is repeated often & loudly enough, it becomes the truth. And the "truth" to many today is that AU is dirty
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
@jwallace7469 I have no problem with anyone looking into anything they think is fishy, my problem is "creating" scandals that don't exist
Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
BTW: Still waiting on those audio tapes from that other clown who said he had recording of Cam accepting $
Bravo.
Some of the replies prove exactly his point.
Hogtrough â€@Hogtrough 2h
@ChaddScott auburn has a very well known history with being dirty starting back in the 70s
Ryan Patterson â€@Ryno4au 2h
@ChaddScott the best quote I have heard so far is from Bob Ryan. "They've been cheating since the 50s, can we talk about something else?"
@AVNOLES 1h
@ChaddScott no evidence that Cam Newtons dad admitted to accepting money?
:facepalm:
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Wasn't the Honey Badger supposedly on da spice?
How about Jimmy Johns and his actual hardcore narcotics distribution outside the UA athletic complex?
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Literally, everything presented as fact in Selena's article is bullshit.
â€@TheAuburner 4m
Roopstigo article states that AU's athletic complex is 800000 sqft. The tallest building in the state is only 570000 sqft. (h/t @cinco2seis)
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Someone on the twatters ask Chadd to get his old boss to lay the eff off. Colin Cowherd has declared Auburn dirtier than North Korea. :taunt:
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Chadd Scott â€@ChaddScott 1h
One final thing: I worked at ESPN in Bristol from '03-'07. I do not recall being drug tested there ever.
Expand
*snicker*
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I think the biggest problem is they have something against smoking spice. The shouldn't knock it till they all try it. Other than the occasional urge to eat a dudes face off, it's a pretty cool and kinky high.
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I think the biggest problem is they have something against smoking spice. The shouldn't knock it till they all try it. Other than the occasional urge to eat a dudes face off, it's a pretty cool and kinky high.
You're thinking of bath salts. I've smoked spice. And I can count on both hands the number of times I've smoked anything, not counting cigars.
Spice is legal marijuana.
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You're thinking of bath salts. I've smoked spice. And I can count on both hands the number of times I've smoked anything, not counting cigars.
Spice is legal marijuana.
Oh yeah. I smoke so much shit I can't keep it all straight. I'd smoke chains if I could light them.
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Oh yeah. I smoke so much shit I can't keep it all straight. I'd smoke chains if I could light them.
I smoked a turkey for Easter, but I never had any urges afterward. Weird.
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http://auburnauthority.com/2013/04/05/full-emails-from-and-to-selena-roberts-and-auburn/
Full emails from and to Selena Roberts and Auburn
Posted on April 5, 2013 by James Crepea
inShare
AUBURN — The full initial email sent from Selena Roberts to Auburn was released on Friday. Robert initial contacted Kirk Sampson, Associate Athletics Director for Communications at Auburn. Below is a transcript of the emails with only personal contact information removed.
In a story entitled “Auburn’s Tainted Title Victims, Violations and Vendettas for Glory†which Roberts published to her website on Wednesday, she quotes several former players including Mike McNeil, who is to stand trial next week for his role in a 2011 armed robbery, alleging several NCAA violations at Auburn including the changing of grades and paying of players. Roberts makes no mention of NCAA violations in her request to speak to Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs.
Auburn athletics Director of Strategic Communication Jack Smith, who responded to Roberts’ request, said of her report, “this was gotcha, hide-the-ball journalism at its worst.â€
From: Selena Roberts
Sent: Thursday, March 28, 2013 11:40 A.M.
To: Kirk Sampson
Subject: Media Request/Jay Jacobs
Hi Kirk — I’m working on a piece about the armed robbery charges involving Mosley, Kitchens, Goodwin and McNeil. After interviewing more than a dozen people about that night, I had some questions regarding Auburn University and former Coach Gene Chizik’s role in the case. I’m requesting an interview with Jay Jacobs about the information I have received.
I can be reached at [phone number redacted].
Thank you, Selena
Selena Roberts
Founder| Rooster Media Group, LLC
Roopstigo Sports Network
www.roopstigo.com
[phone number redacted]
Selena,
Good afternoon. Kirk Sampson forwarded to me your email requesting an interview with Jay Jacobs about the former football players involved in the 2011 robbery. We respectfully decline the opportunity to be interviewed for your story at this time. Best of luck and thanks for reaching out to us.
Respectfully,
Jack
Jack Smith
Director of Strategic Communication
Auburn Athletics
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Mike & Mike discussed the story this morning. I'm still listening. So far, relatively fair.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=9137452
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Just listened to it. Relatively fair, but still lent too much credence to the "too much smoke not to be a fire" theory.
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Just listened to it. Relatively fair, but still lent too much credence to the "too much smoke not to be a fire" theory.
See I don't get that. If it had been from multiple news sites ok maybe. The smoke is coming from one bitches mouth, and a kid about to be locked up.
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See I don't get that. If it had been from multiple news sites ok maybe. The smoke is coming from one bitches mouth, and a kid about to be locked up.
Just be glad Ralph the Wonder Llama refused to comment.
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You're thinking of bath salts. I've smoked spice. And I can count on both hands the number of times I've smoked anything, not counting cigars.
Spice is legal marijuana.
Not anymore... At least in Alabama.
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This guy is a hero.
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/04/04/espns-auburn-synthetic-reefer-madness-report-has-some-major-flaws/
ESPN’s Auburn Synthetic Reefer Madness Report Has Some Major Flaws [UPDATE]
All, College Football, DrugsTy DuffyApril 4th. 2013, 9:54pm
ESPN the Magazine is sounding the marijuana war drums again. Last year, it was Oregon. This year the school with the “epidemic†is Auburn and the cannabis is synthetic. “The Mag†contends that Auburn engaged in a “cover up†to mask positive tests for synthetic marijuana in January 2011.
A six-month investigation by ESPN The Magazine and “E:60″ into the spread of synthetic marijuana at Auburn reveals that a dozen students on the football team, including its star running back, Michael Dyer, failed tests for the designer drug. The investigation also found that because the school did not implement testing for the drug until after it won the national championship in January 2011, as many as a dozen other seniors who used synthetic marijuana were never caught.
Synthetic cannabinoids were not illegal then. Alabama did not outlaw it until October 2011. They were also not part of Auburn’s drug policy until August 2011, the same time the NCAA’s policy went into effect. This is a “failed drug test†for drugs that were (a) legal and (b) not listed on the school’s banned substances policy. There was no competitive issue and the time frame did not affect any games played.
Auburn, according to Rivals, was participating in clinical trials to help develop a test for the drug. Auburn started the tests three days after they became available, on Jan. 24. The twelve positives mentioned by ESPN were during those trials. Testing at that stage was still imperfect. Auburn could not tell if it was catching repeat offenders with weekly tests or recurring positives from the same usage (hence the guy who tested positive seven times).
The initial tests simply indicated the presence of “spice†in the bloodstream. It couldn’t discern the levels of substance, meaning a single use could trigger positive tests for a period of up to three weeks.
Auburn didn’t feel comfortable punishing athletes without the ability to know if use was a one-time experimentation or a serial behavior. The department continued to educate athletes about the risks of using “spice†and waited for a better test that would help identify changes in usage.
Auburn began using the fully operational test when it became available in August 2011, which explains the lag between the positive tests and enforcement. ESPN’s report claims Auburn did not notify parents about the positive tests. The Rivals’ site has two parents affirming they were notified by coaches about positive tests. Auburn’s official statement asserts parents mentioned in the ESPN piece were contacted about positive tests by both phone and written correspondence.
We would dispute the merit of schools testing “students†for recreational drug use at all. But, beyond that debate, it’s not clear what Auburn did wrong.
UPDATE: Here is a response from ESPN PR.
“ESPN The Magazine stands by its reporting on the Auburn story (http://es.pn/16wYndx), a process conducted over six months and including more than 30 interviews. Contrary to other suggestions, JWH-018 (Spice) has been illegal to possess in the state of Alabama since the Alabama Synthetic Marijuana law was enacted July 1, 2010: http://bit.ly/YXosSB (2010-717). Additionally, during that same month a test for the drug was made available to the general public:. http://bit.ly/10EIHSm.â€
Here is a response to ESPN PR:
Alabama did pass a synthetic marijuana law on July 1, 2010. Because of a loophole, manufacturers were able to skirt around the law. Such products were not removed from store shelves until an emergency order was passed in October 14, 2011. Had this product not been on store shelves, giving stores a 10-day grace period to remove said product from their store shelves would not have been necessary.
Auburn contends they inquired about a test with their drug testing company in the Fall of 2010 and were told one wasn’t available. They implemented it three days after the company had a preliminary one in January 2011. This was for a drug that (a) any player could have walked into a store and bought and (b) was not on the NCAA or Auburn’s banned substances list. If accurate, that is a reasonable course of action. It is more proactive than they were required to be.
ESPN’s contention is that Auburn was derelict because the school should have known there was an “epidemic†of synthetic marijuana use (12 players failed the test, a figure lower than the 26.7 percent of college football players who admit marijuana use) when they weren’t testing and should have scoured the rest of the country to find another testing agency to conduct the tests immediately. That is an unfair criticism.
Criticize a school for not meeting its obligations. You can’t criticize a school credibly for failing to go well beyond its obligations. Especially when there were none. There is no prescribed standard of conduct to which one could compare Auburn’s handling of synthetic marijuana. The article mentions no comparison to how any other school handled synthetic marijuana. However long it took and however many interviews were conducted, this piece is a scandalous, empty headline devoid of coherent logic for its existence.
He also asks on tweeted:
@tyduffy 7h
Most disturbing thing about those Auburn stories is people just aggregating shit and running with it without reading it.
@tyduffy 7h
Another ? Does ESPN publish that same schlocky marijuana report about Alabama? Texas? USC? Some school where they need access next year?
@tyduffy 46m
How did Alabama handle synthetic marijuana and why was that not asked?
@tyduffy 45m
Or LSU, or Ole Miss, or Stanford or any other school one could possibly have compared Auburn’s actions to?
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This guy is a hero.
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/04/04/espns-auburn-synthetic-reefer-madness-report-has-some-major-flaws/
He also asks on tweeted:
He needs to be hired as our Director of Media Relations.
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So, with his last ditch effort shot to pieces, McNeil withdraws his "not guilty" plea and pleads guilty to robbery in the first degree.
http://www.wrbl.com/story/21907937/former-auburn-football-player-mike-mcneil-to-plead-guilty-to-robbery
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@AUAuthority 52s
Premise of Selena Roberts story was Mike McNeil maintaining his innocence for 2+ years. 5 days later he pleads guilty.
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@AUAuthority 52s
Premise of Selena Roberts story was Mike McNeil maintaining his innocence for 2+ years. 5 days later he pleads guilty.
If that is not the most transparent attorney sponsored blowjob of a "breaking story" EVER, I'll eat my hat.
I will channel my inner Prowler, since he is not here to say it.
BOOM, MOTHERFUCKER!!
And I will add a quiet "Suck it, bitch."
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Unfortunately, I don't know if anyone outside the Auburn family will even pay attention to this. We can look at this and point to it being more evidence of how full of shit she and her hit piece is. But, will ESPN or anyone pick this up? Of course not. She did her damage and moved on.
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Also, this.
@clickityclack 25m
McNeil's motion to continue his trial based on various things, including the "new" revelations last week was DENIED Fri afternoon. #relevant
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Some national media noticed.
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/04/08/mike-mcneil-former-auburn-safety-defended-by-selena-roberts-pleads-guilty-to-first-degree-robbery/
Mike McNeil: Former Auburn Safety Defended By Selena Roberts Plead Guilty To First Degree Robbery
Ty DuffyApril 8th. 2013, 11:39am
The Auburn narratives keep unraveling. Five days after Selena Roberts went to bat for him, former Tiger safety Mike McNeil changed his plea to “guilty†on first degree robbery charges. He will serve three years in prison.
Former Auburn football player Mike McNeil told a Lee County Judge this morning that he wants to change his not guilty plea. McNeil is charged with robbery. McNeil said he wants to plead guilty to robbery in the first degree. After a short recess the Judge sentenced him to a 15 year “split sentence. He is required to serve three years in jail and then be on probation for an additional three years.
Jury selection for his trial was to begin in McNeil’s trial this morning. So much for the whole “Auburn made him a scapegoat,†he came from a “spiritual family†and he will try to vindicate himself at trial angle.
Related: Selena Roberts’ Report Probably Won’t Have Auburn Football Sweating
Related: ESPN’s Auburn Synthetic Reefer Madness Report Has Some Major Flaws
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Color me surprised.
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Some national media noticed.
http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/04/08/mike-mcneil-former-auburn-safety-defended-by-selena-roberts-pleads-guilty-to-first-degree-robbery/
Posted to bspn facebooks page. Let's see how long it stays.
Gone before I got done here. :facepalm:
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So, you mean to tell me that McNeil now says that he's guilty after telling all of us that he didn't know what was going on that night? He fibbed?! That dirty scoundrel.
And according to Sabrina, his mamma said he's always been a good boy. Something doesn't add up.
AU must've encouraged the spice smoking. Somebody better investigate soon.
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Unfortunately, I don't know if anyone outside the Auburn family will even pay attention to this. We can look at this and point to it being more evidence of how full of shit she and her hit piece is. But, will ESPN or anyone pick this up? Of course not. She did her damage and moved on.
Exactamundo.
Saw my uncle who is down visiting from Cleveland this weekend. "So are you worried about sanctions that could be levied against Auburn?" He is not even a close follower of college sports. :facepalm:
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So, you mean to tell me that McNeil now says that he's guilty after telling all of us that he didn't know what was going on that night? He fibbed?! That dirty scoundrel.
And according to Sabrina, his mamma said he's always been a good boy. Something doesn't add up.
AU must've encouraged the spice smoking. Somebody better investigate soon.
Pat Dye does a mean Mike McNeil impression.
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Pat Dye does a mean Mike McNeil impression.
Only when Pat's on the spice. That's why he lost his britches that time on the lake.
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Only when Pat's on the spice. That's why he lost his britches that time on the lake.
Pat's going to be down here Friday at a nursery putting on a seminar on growing those Japanese Maples ( I think) That seminar is free. Later in the day, he's doing one on synthetic marijuana. The cost is $125.00 but you get free samples and a How-To pamphlet on the most effective ways to introduce it to your program.
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Really appreciating Whitlock over the last 7 days:
Jason Whitlock â€@WhitlockJason 11m
Duke lacrosse. Her A-Rod book was a joke. Now Auburn DB flips a few days after her story. But we will continue to prop her as credible.
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Really appreciating Whitlock over the last 7 days:
Jason Whitlock â€@WhitlockJason 11m
Duke lacrosse. Her A-Rod book was a joke. Now Auburn DB flips a few days after her story. But we will continue to prop her as credible.
I am now a fan. I don't mind catching hell when it's due but this was nothing more than a hit piece. And a weak one at that. Refreshing when someone in the profession has guts to call a colleague out.
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SBNation (for whatever that's worth) now piling on:
http://www.sbnation.com/2013/4/8/4196778/auburn-football-scandal-espn-selena-roberts
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It should be noted that not everyone is convinced.
@TheAuburner 49m
@ColFootballNews Do you still maintain that the NCAA needs to do an independent investigation of the Roberts report?
â€@ColFootballNews 38m
@TheAuburner Of course ... If the report is totally untrue and Auburn is innocent, then the school has nothing to worry about.
Also:
@SolidVerbal 11m
No idea what Mike McNeil did or didn't do, but pleading guilty does not equal, "I DEFINITELY DID IT!!" … http://cbsn.ws/YaJ6jt
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FUCK!
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If that is not the most transparent attorney sponsored blowjob of a "breaking story" EVER, I'll eat my hat.
I will channel my inner Prowler, since he is not here to say it.
BOOM, MOTHERfudgeER!!
And I will add a quiet "Suck it, bitch."
(https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSm1QYrokBSUceOd4_qW78sf67pniUT-ERb3X2j40TQKGncRXoU)
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I LOL'ed at this tweet.
@zboman 10m
BREAKING: Former Auburn Heisman Tophy winner allegedly asked for money to ride his bike. http://www.bobikesbama.com/ #filthycheatingbarners
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It should be noted that not everyone is convinced.
Also:
Nothing to hide because the NCAA already ripped our books apart while all of this was supposedly going on.
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Nothing to hide because the NCAA already ripped our books apart while all of this was supposedly going on.
See, that's what I'm talking about. Where and when does the media bring this up?
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See, that's what I'm talking about. Where and when does the media bring this up?
I think you already know the answer to this question. Whenever they find an opportunity to create their own little buzz. AU is an easy target. They can't stand the fact that we got a clean bill after the NCAA check up.
And, we will continue to have stories like this come up. It's a part of the culture of post Cam.
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I think you already know the answer to this question. Whenever they find an opportunity to create their own little buzz. AU is an easy target. They can't stand the fact that we got a clean bill after the NCAA check up.
And, we will continue to have stories like this come up. It's a part of the culture of post Cam.
Yes, I know the answer but it still aggravates the shit outta me.
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Maybe this latest story quoting Ms Roberts will finally convince some of you doubters.
Selena Roberts: Mike McNeil plea deal doesn't hurt his account of NCAA violations at Auburn
Print
By Brandon Marcello | bmarcello@al.com
Follow on Twitter
on April 08, 2013 at 2:30 PM, updated April 08, 2013 at 2:58 PM
Former Auburn football player Mike McNeil, who's charged with armed robbery along with three other teammates of an Auburn residence in 2011, appears for a hearing Thursday, April 4, 2013 at the Lee County Justice Center in Opelika, Ala. Former teammate Antonio Goodwin was convicted of armed robbery in March 2012 and is currently serving a 15 year sentence. (AP Photo/Opelika-Auburn News, Albert Cesare/Pool)
AUBURN, Alabama -- In the moments following Mike McNeil's plea deal stemming from a first-degree robbery charge, the author of a report citing wrongdoing by Auburn and alleged interference with due process wants to know if Auburn's police department will examine how it handled the Auburn safety's case.
"I would never presume to know what someone is facing in that situation would do," Selena Roberts, founder and CEO of Roopstigo.com, said when asked about the McNeil's plea deal. "Like I said, the story is about due process and the procedures that were followed and everything that led up to this moment with the trial and facing 21 years to life [in prison]. I would never try to be in the head and the heart of somebody who is facing that."
McNeil, a former Auburn safety, pleaded guilty today to a first-degree robbery charge in Lee County Court and will serve three years in jail and three years probation. He is the central figure in the Roopstigo.com report, which includes a detailed timeline on the night of his arrest in March 2011 and when police, his family alleges, withheld information.
Many of those details have been refuted by players quoted in the story, and through various sources and accounts in AL.com's reporting.
McNeil maintained his innocence through attorney Ben Hand over last two years before entering a guilty plea Monday morning in court.
In March 2011, Auburn's police department handled the investigation and arrests of four former Tigers in connection with an alleged home invasion.
Auburn police chief Tommy Dawson took issue with several points in Roberts' story, which quotes McNeil and members of his family. They say police withheld information and assured them his arrest was a "big misunderstanding."
"I'd like to be clear, I don't make any difference for a football player, a football coach, anybody," Dawson told AL.com last week. " I could care less what a football coach has to say. A football coach doesn't tell me how to run the Auburn police division."
Selena Roberts
Roberts says she hopes her story sheds more light on how Auburn's police department handles investigations, a key backdrop in her report last week, which includes allegations of multiple NCAA violations not connected to the arrests.
"You always say sunshine is the best disinfectant and the police chief thinks from a different perspective and from a different point of view," Roberts said. "... It's up to them to step back and say, 'Do we have a problem here?' Or to say we like the way we do things and we're going to stick with them."
Dawson says Roberts never contacted him before publishing the story.
Hand is quoted in the Roopstigo.com report as saying "Mike McNeil didn't rob anyone." McNeil asked that Hand be dismissed as his attorney during a status hearing Thursday in court but that request was denied.
"To show you how innocent he is, Mike is willing to go to trial because he says he didn’t do it,†Hand says in Roberts' report published Wednesday.
McNeil, upon entering the guilty plea, stopped short Monday of agreeing with the prosecutors' account of the 2011 home invasion.
"I was informed what they are trying to say is the truth, but I am not saying it is," McNeil said.
McNeil potentially faced a stiffer sentence if found guilty during the tial.
“The risks were so great we decided not to do it,†Hand said.
Hand characterized the incident as "what could be portrayed as possibly a prank." Hand said there was possible evidence supporting his claim that would have come out at trial.
Melodie Campbell, McNeil's mother, told Roopstigo.com police withheld information on the night of her son's arrest. She says she talked to a "Capt. Welch," who told her the arrest is a "big misunderstanding" and that they are "just waiting for coach to come." Dawson told AL.com Cory Welch works with the Lee County Sheriff's Department at the jail -- not the police department.
"They had nothing to do with this case," Dawson said. "All they did was house the prisoners when we took them over there, the suspects in the robbery, so I don't know where that's coming from."
Roberts frames her story with one crucial line: "Campbell would discover what happened to her son over a timeline that may prove to be a tripwire to imploding a powerful and storied athletic institution."
McNeil has not commented to reporters since he told Roberts he was offered money and also had a grade changed to stay eligible before the Tigers' march to the BCS national championship in the 2010 season. Sources close to the football program told AL.com last week McNeil's grades were not changed illegally. Florida coach Will Muschamp, a former defensive coordinator at Auburn, says he did not pay the former safety $400.
Roberts does not believe McNeil's plea deal, after two years of maintaining innocence, affects his credibility or his stories of NCAA rule-breaking at Auburn.
"Yeah, I think they're mutually exclusive in this case," Roberts said. "One dose not dovetail with the other on this one. In this profession reporters interview people facing trial, after trial, when they get out, before they go in."
Auburn has strongly refuted details in the report through a statement from athletic director Jay Jacobs. Former Auburn coach Gene Chizik has also denied the allegations.
Several players quoted in the story have also told AL.com and other media outlets they were misquoted or that details in the story are flat-out wrong. Roberts says some players she quoted in the story have contacted her since the report was published.
"I had a couple reach out to me, but I think those conversations are private," Roberts said. "Like I said all along, I think everybody I spoke to, I was grateful they spoke to me, and I certainly feel like they're good people."
McNeil played a big part in the Tigers' national championship season, recording 14 tackles in a 22-19 victory against Oregon in the BCS title game.
Prosecutors, with the backing of testimony from the victims, allege McNeil and former teammates Shaun Kitchens and Antonio Goodwin entered a residence in the Conway Acres Mobile Home Park on March 11, 2011 and robbed five college students while co-defendant Dakota Mosley waited in the getaway vehicle outside.
McNeil was one of two armed intruders and the only one carrying a real firearm, a .45-caliber handgun borrowed from former Auburn running back Mike Dyer, according to prosecutors.
Kitchens and Mosley are still awaiting trial. Goodwin was convicted of robbery in 2012 and is serving a 15-year sentence.
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Somebody please give this lady some real dick so she'll STFU.
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Somebody please give this lady some real dick so she'll STFU.
You game?
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I'd rather fuck a fine azz bammer than touch that MF...oh wait, I am fucking a fine azz bammer.
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She sounds dumber than Honey Boo Boo.
I'm ashamed that she has a degree from Auburn and wish it could be rescinded.
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CEO of roopstipiggie? Lulz
Wow. I'm impressed.
Stupid bitch.
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CEO of roopstipiggie? Lulz
Wow. I'm impressed.
Stupid bitch.
You really shouldn't be so condescending toward Ms Roberts about her title and career. She has grown this Roostypoot enterprise from the humble beginnings of the corner of her bedroom to the point of almost needing a second filing cabinet.
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Rastapoot is a nationally known blog...just ask teh fine folks at ESPN.
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Rastapoot is a nationally known blog...just ask teh fine folks at ESPN.
Was dumbbitch.com taken?
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Was dumbbitch.com taken?
Most likely by a Kardashian.
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Most likely by a Kardashian.
touche
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Most likely by a Kardashian.
Yeah but I'd at least let a couple of the Kardashian chicks lick my rooster. I'd only slap Ms Roberts with it. I said, ooomph up side the head, ooomph up side the head.
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Somebody please give this lady some real dick so she'll STFU.
From what I've read she only likes the strap on kind.
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From what I've read she only likes the strap on kind.
Well that sux, literally. Freaking Updykes.
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Yeah but I'd at least let a couple of the Kardashian chicks lick my rooster. I'd only slap Ms Roberts with it. I said, ooomph up side the head, ooomph up side the head.
I heard you could manage both sides at the same time...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMNry4PE93Y
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http://www.auburnvillager.com/opinion/article_1b6aa160-a1f2-11e2-b54b-001a4bcf6878.html
After reading her latest defamatory article that attempts to tarnish the image of our alma mater, I couldn’t be happier about that.
While Roberts and I went through the same journalism program at Auburn, perhaps she didn’t do as well in her Press Law and Ethics class as I did. In that class, taught by the brilliant and extremely talented Dr. Dale Harrison, I learned that a reporter needs something called “proof†when writing harsh articles that are presented as definitive news stories. If you don’t have evidence, you must use words like “allegedly,†“may have†or “perhaps.â€
I also learned that you shouldn’t just print one side of a story that involves alleged cheating and police corruption, because otherwise you’re left with a slanted article and negative perceptions of people who weren’t given the chance to defend themselves.