Cue the Fake Smear Stories About Auburn

[Come Honor Face]

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

[WiregrassTiger]

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.

[AUChizad]

Chadd Scott ‏@ChaddScott 1h
To all my Auburn friends, ESPN has declared your downfall. Please have everything boxed up & town evacuated by noon.

 Chadd Scott ‏@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 ‏@ChaddScott 1h
... sort of like there's always an air around conference realignment that ESPN influences it?

 Chadd Scott ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@ChaddScott 1h
I read @SBJSBD religiously, but I must have missed edition where Danny Sheridan was named ESPN head of programming #bagman

 Chadd Scott ‏@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 ‏@ChaddScott 1h
"An 8 month dead zone where a lot of bad things happened," E:60. Oy. "Bad things?" care to elaborate?

 Chadd Scott ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@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 ‏@Hogtrough 2h
@ChaddScott auburn has a very well known history with being dirty starting back in the 70s

Ryan Patterson ‏@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?

 

[wesfau2]

Wasn't the Honey Badger supposedly on da spice?

How about Jimmy Johns and his actual hardcore narcotics distribution outside the UA athletic complex?

[AUChizad]

Literally, everything presented as fact in Selena's article is bullshit.

‏

@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)

[The Six]

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. 

[Buzz Killington]

Chadd Scott ‏@ChaddScott 1h
One final thing: I worked at ESPN in Bristol from '03-'07. I do not recall being drug tested there ever.
Expand

 

[WiregrassTiger]

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.

[AUChizad]

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.

[WiregrassTiger]

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.

[Buzz Killington]

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.

[AUChizad]

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.”

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

[AUChizad]

Mike & Mike discussed the story this morning. I'm still listening. So far, relatively fair.

http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=9137452

[AUChizad]

Just listened to it. Relatively fair, but still lent too much credence to the "too much smoke not to be a fire" theory.

[Godfather]

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.

[Buzz Killington]

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.

[AWK]

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.

[AUChizad]

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.”

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?

[Pell City Tiger]

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.

[wesfau2]

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