Cue the Fake Smear Stories About Auburn

[The Six]

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?!?

[Snaggletiger]

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".

[wesfau2]

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.

[Come Honor Face]

I bet Finebaum iss kicking puppies right now without a stage.

[AUownsU]

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.

[wesfau2]

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.

[Snaggletiger]

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.

[JR4AU]

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.   

[wesfau2]

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.

[Snaggletiger]

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

[wesfau2]

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.

[djsimp]

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.

[AUChizad]

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 limb”—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.

[AWK]

mommy part is on ESPN Sportscenter right now.

[AUChizad]

mommy part is on ESPN Sportscenter right now.

Why not bring on any of the players quoted in the story?

[AWK]

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...

[AUChizad]

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?

[wesfau2]

http://outkickthecoverage.com/lets-give-2010-auburn-full-immunity.php

Can't believe you gave that ass any traffic. 

[AUChizad]

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.

[AUownsU]

http://outkickthecoverage.com/lets-give-2010-auburn-full-immunity.php