REPORT - Auburn Bribed Players

Report: Auburn bribed players

Updated: April 3, 2013, 11:10 PM ET
ESPN.com news services

According to a report by former New York Times and Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts, Auburn paid players to return for their senior seasons and changed grades to make players eligible for the BCS championship.

Auburn's football program changed players' grades to secure eligibility, offered money to potential NFL draft picks so they would return for their senior seasons, and violated NCAA recruiting rules under former coach Gene Chizik, according to a report by former New York Times and Sports Illustrated writer Selena Roberts.

The report appears on Roberts' website, Roopstigo.com. According to three former Auburn players, as many as nine players' grades were changed before Auburn's win in the 2011 BCS national championship game.

"We thought we would be without (running back) Mike Dyer because he said he was one of them, but Auburn found a way to make those dudes eligible," former Auburn defensive lineman Mike Blanc told Roberts.

According to the report, Auburn coaches offered money to players for any number of reasons, including as a means to convince players to bypass the NFL draft.

Darvin Adams, a former Auburn wide receiver, told Roberts that coaches offered him cash to keep him at the school.

Blanc and Mike McNeil, another former Auburn player, told Roberts the money amounts reached "several thousand dollars."

"Coaches would say, 'Don't tell anyone where you got it from,'" Blanc told Roberts.

McNeil told Roberts he had a meeting with then-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, now Florida's coach, in 2007.

"I had no clue what it was about because I'd never directly asked him for anything," McNeil told Roberts. "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.'"

McNeil is awaiting trial for armed robbery stemming from a March 2011 arrest. In June, his former teammate Antonio Goodwin was sentenced to 15 years in prison for his part in the incident. Ben Hand, McNeil's former attorney, maintained McNeil's innocence to Roberts.

Former Auburn defensive back Nieko Thorpe told Roberts that Auburn, in a team meeting, threatened players' scholarships if they contacted McNeil, Goodwin or the two other players arrested.

McNeil told Roberts he felt Auburn used him as a scapegoat at a time when the Tigers faced negative publicity from allegations that the father of star quarterback Cam Newton had asked for money during his son's recruitment. An NCAA investigation found Auburn committed no major rules violations in the Newton case.

"Maybe there is a fear in Auburn's mind that Michael knows too much," McNeil's father, Clifton, told Roberts. "Their fear is that Michael will expose the family secret. It's a way to silence him."

Thorpe also told Roberts the coaching staff far exceeded its NCAA-allotted per diem for entertaining recruits. Thorpe said coaches gave players $500 to entertain current Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick, even though the NCAA reportedly limits expenses to less than $50 per day.

All of these allegations happened under Chizik, who guided Auburn to its first national title since 1957 after the 2010 season.

Chizik was fired after a 3-9 season last year.

Good, bring down the hammer NCAA. Take away their title since you screwed up the SCAM Newton case. Kick Auburn in the balls!