4 ex-Auburn players admit to Pay-for-Play!!!

"Four former Auburn football players detailed a “pay to play” arrangement that included payments totaling thousands of dollars before and after they decided to attend the university. The players -- Chaz Ramsey, Troy Reddick, Stanley McClover and Raven Gray -- spoke on camera with reporter Andrea Kremer for a segment on HBO’s "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel."...



“Somebody came to me, I don’t even know this person and he was like, ‘We would love for you to come to LSU and he gave me a handshake and it had five hundred dollars in there,” McClover told Kremer, according to the transcript. “That’s called a money handshake.” McClover said he also got money handshakes from Auburn, Michigan State and Ohio State and other enticements such as sexual favors. He committed to Ohio State but switched to Auburn. McClover asked for money to change his commitment; he said the cash was delivered in a bookbag. “I almost passed out. I literally passed out I couldn’t believe it was true. I felt like I owed them,” McClover was quoted as saying in the transcript. Ramsey and Gray also said they received money handshakes. Ramsey estimated he received $300 to $400 per game and between $5,000 and $6,000 total; Gray estimated that he got $2,500 to $3,000 to go to Auburn. McClover, who was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in 2006, said he was paid $4,000 for his performance in an Iron Bowl game against Alabama...



Reddick said in the report that he was offered money during his recruitment but did not take it. He said his stance changed after AU coaches pressured him to change majors so that his class schedule would not interfere with football practice. Reddick said that, at that point, he knew he was at Auburn only to play football. He made noise about leaving school, until he was told by a coach that he had some mail for him. “I followed him up to his office and he gave me an envelope,” Reddick said. He said the envelope contained about $500. He said he received “two or three" additional payments that season, and "six or seven" more payments his senior year... “I’m not out to get anybody,” Ramsey told Kremer. “I want high school athletes to know what they’re getting into. This is what college football is really about it, it’s a business.” Ramsey and Reddick also talked about selling items made available to them by the school such as tickets and SEC championship watches. Reddick said he sold his championship rings to help his sister avoid foreclosure on her house.



McClover played for Auburn from 2004 to 2005. Reddick played from 2002 to 2005. Ramsey played in 2007. Gray committed to Auburn in 2007 but never played for the Tigers because of an injury.



In a statement released by Auburn, the athletic department declined to comment on the allegations and characterized the four men's stories as "alleged claims apparently made by a few former football players." The statement continued to say, "compliance with all NCAA and Southeastern Conference rules is a major emphasis and top priority for all of our athletic programs at Auburn University."



HBO said the NCAA declined repeated interview requests."





http://aol.sportingnews.com/ncaa-football/story/2011-03-29/ex-auburn-players-say-they-received-thousands-in-payments" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

This makes me sick. The greed and corruption of these schools is disgusting.

The NCAA does not even want this come out. This blows a huge hole in the system. We all know it happens everywhere, but the NCAA wants to ignore it completely because they can not handle the volume of cases this opens up.



All credit to the players for speaking up. Auburn has been dirty for years, been caught many times, so no surprises. But interesting they implicated other schools.



More teeth in enforcement would help, though.

Truth be told, if the NCAA is smart, and have any backbone at all, this is their chance to come down hard and use it as an excuse to redesign how conference affiliation works, destroy the BCS and put in a playoff system. Thus instantly making them way more powerful and profitable.

I think Lawboy is right. things have gotten so bad that the ncaa just can't enforce it. that and if they do the big schools will eventually just say fine, we don't need you and move on. It is all very disillusioning to me.

Lawboy wrote:
The NCAA does not even want this come out. This blows a huge hole in the system. We all know it happens everywhere, but the NCAA wants to ignore it completely because they can not handle the volume of cases this opens up.



All credit to the players for speaking up. Auburn has been dirty for years, been caught many times, so no surprises. But interesting they implicated other schools.



More teeth in enforcement would help, though.

Yeah, TONS of credit to guys coming out five years after the fact. :whistle:

jonnylingo wrote:
I think Lawboy is right. things have gotten so bad that the ncaa just can't enforce it. that and if they do the big schools will eventually just say fine, we don't need you and move on. It is all very disillusioning to me.

The problem here is accreditation. From my understanding of accreditation requirements, it all goes out the window if these institutions are found to be paying their student athletes, whether that is directly or through boosters. If they lose their accreditation all their students degrees are considered completely worthless.

The NCAA doesn't have any power over accreditation but if these schools break ties with the NCAA because the NCAA is cracking down on payments to student athletes you better believe those accrediting bodies will start investigating.

So they got paid for their services. Big deal and as Lawboy points out pretty much everyone does it so it really doesn't give anyone an advantage. Whatever.



What I found really interesting is what Reddick said about being pressured to change majors. Everyone talks about the college education these players get as though it is some great thing, but the college education they receive is not the same as everyone else. I tutored advanced math classes for a few students on athletic scholarships while at BYU and the pressure placed on them by their coaches and the athletic department at BYU was enormous. Three of the four transferred out of engineering and math majors due to the pressure to attend practice/get a better grade/etc.



What I'm saying is the value of the scholarship the athletes receive is not what you paid for yours. So they get a few more perks, who cares, as Brian Logan said they pay the bills.

I said it happens everywhere, but I did not say it is right. I do not agree with it. I paid big $$$ for my education, and it has served me well my whole life. Diminishing the value of that is a false argument. Kids who get their degrees tend to commit less crime, contribute more to society. Athletes who bomb out of school tend to have greater issues. The value of the degree is beyond $$$ to society, and people who diminish is miss the big picture entirely.

jvquarterback wrote:
So they got paid for their services. Big deal and as Lawboy points out pretty much everyone does it so it really doesn't give anyone an advantage. Whatever.



What I found really interesting is what Reddick said about being pressured to change majors. Everyone talks about the college education these players get as though it is some great thing, but the college education they receive is not the same as everyone else. I tutored advanced math classes for a few students on athletic scholarships while at BYU and the pressure placed on them by their coaches and the athletic department at BYU was enormous. Three of the four transferred out of engineering and math majors due to the pressure to attend practice/get a better grade/etc.



What I'm saying is the value of the scholarship the athletes receive is not what you paid for yours. So they get a few more perks, who cares, as Brian Logan said they pay the bills.

JV, although I agree with you that athletes are worth more to their schools than they're paid (as evidenced by under the table favors like these) and the NCAA is a cartel whose very design does athletes financial violence (Despite allowing them to receive free education. They're worth more than that to the schools obviously.), I am torn, because I want a fair playing field. I think ALL athletes in college are already paid and therefore are already professionals and the NCAA shouldn't try to claim otherwise, but man, it's tough for me because I honestly can't imagine what college sports would be like without it. I suppose if you could paint a picture for me of what it WOULD be like, and it was appealing, I might be more inclined to take your position whole-heartedly.

And perhaps, if you could do so by private messaging me it would be better. As it seems when you or I write more than our fair share of posts, the thread gets locked and it sucks.

Lawboy wrote:
I said it happens everywhere, but I did not say it is right. I do not agree with it. I paid big $$$ for my education, and it has served me well my whole life. Diminishing the value of that is a false argument. Kids who get their degrees tend to commit less crime, contribute more to society. Athletes who bomb out of school tend to have greater issues. The value of the degree is beyond $$$ to society, and people who diminish is miss the big picture entirely.

Not trying to diminish your education, in fact I am saying it is superior to the education received by athletes who are pressured into not taking courses and majors they want by their coaches and athletic departments.

This thread is not a debate about whether or not college players should be payed for play. The thread is about Auburn being once again caught in rule breaking. Please try to keep comments on topic.

Prediction on what the NCAA does with this info: Nothing.



Auburn has so many violations and issues, they are worthy of the 2nd death penalty. But it will not happen, even if it should. At a minimum, they should get 5 years bowl ban, lose 20 schollies a year for 5 years, no TV appearances for 2 years and vacate wins. They are repeated, repeat, repeat offenders and need to be slapped down. And the SEC needs to see that the NCAA means business for a change.

hawkwing wrote:
This thread is not a debate about whether or not college players should be payed for play. The thread is about Auburn being once again caught in rule breaking. Please try to keep comments on topic.

Auburn, Michigan State and Ohio State, among others. Though I wouldn't say they were caught, we'll have to wait for proof.

The article also addresses pressure placed on players to avoid certain classes and majors which is also supposed to be a violation.

the saddest thing is that while Auburn and Ohio St. were able to have significant success the last 5 years or so while this was happening. Michigan meanwhile is CHEATING and STILL LOSING. :lol: :lol:

11-2 last year wasn't so bad for Michigan St.



So which is worse for you guys: Paying athletes money or pressuring them from taking the courses and majors they want? If it is the latter would you recommend I go to the NCAA to report the pressure put on athletes at BYU from 1997-2000? I'm so torn, how can I know what to do? Maybe they could vacate all the wins in those years (fortunately there weren't a lot).

Lawboy wrote:
Prediction on what the NCAA does with this info: Nothing.



Auburn has so many violations and issues, they are worthy of the 2nd death penalty. But it will not happen, even if it should. At a minimum, they should get 5 years bowl ban, lose 20 schollies a year for 5 years, no TV appearances for 2 years and vacate wins. They are repeated, repeat, repeat offenders and need to be slapped down. And the SEC needs to see that the NCAA means business for a change.

Auburn: Yes, we admit that we had some major infractions by paying players. What now?



SEC: Gee, I don't know, we'll have to see how the NCAA is going to react.



NCAA: Damn it people, you keep putting me in such a bad position. Well, this is it. This is the straw that broke the camel's back. I'm going to have to come down hard on you Auburn. After some serious deliberations, I have decided that you will receive a 5 year bowl ban, a loss of 20 scholarships, no TV appearances and vacating the wins for the last....Ha ha ha ha!



Auburn: Ha ha ha ha!



SEC: Ha ha ha ha!



Auburn: Good one there buddy. You almost had me going there.



NCAA: Yeah, me too. Auburn, can't you control your players. Can't you just tell them to just shut the hell up. You make too much money for me, so I can't let you fail. BTW, Pres. Obama just sent me a whole bunch of stimulation money. Now, where are those off shore account numbers. Ha ha ha ha.

double post.