((Updated 11:15 a.m 4-4-13))
Before you get into the original, full-length version of this--a couple of notes that were brought to light after it was published.
1--Selena Roberts is an Auburn grad. I was not aware of this until just a few minutes ago (11 a.m on 4-4-13). She has in the past been proven "Not Correct" on stories such as the "Duke Lacrosse" story.
2--There have been implications that she is admitting to not recording the interviews with the named players in the "Auburn" story. I don't totally believe the players when they say they didn't make the quotes attributed to them...but I could be wrong. The door has been opened a bit.
3--Later in the opinion piece, I talk about most reporters not having the agendas many people think they do. That would be reporters that work for high profile organizations. There have been implied remarks Roberts threw her alma mater under the bus to get her website traffic up.
4--While Brother Jon makes many valid points/questions in HIS follow up, my question is this: If this is so wrong and/or slanderous, will anyone pursue legal options on it? Or will they just say it's wrong and leave it at that. He mentions an AL.com story that says Roberts never spoke to the Police dept. , however AL.com published an interview with Roberts saying she in fact DID speak to the police "Director of Media". You can read that RIGHT HERE
5--And lastly...I totally stand by the inference that Auburn, most every SEC school and most every Big Time NCAA Program engages in a double standard. No, they don't pay student athletes who make millions for them (they should), but they also allow those "student-athletes" to live life in a bubble, by and large away from and in better conditions than any other "student" on their campus.
Here's the original early morning story:
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((Written 8:15 a.m on 4-4-13))
Oy!
How many stories that portray someone or something in a negative light are going to be denied by the participants in the story these days?
Inevitably, if the story doesn't come out making them sound good, or if it makes them sound bitter, angry or a bit wacky, the player(s) in question just say "I never said that", "The Media/Reporter took it out of context", "They made it up, I never spoke to them".
This syndrome is rearing its head now, at least in the southeast, after a story heavily criticizing and essentially accusing Auburn's football team cheating and bending laws to their advantage appeared on the website Roopstigo.
The story, written by the sites creator, Selena Roberts, a former award winning journalist, tells the story of former Safety Mike McNeil and makes allegations that include: grade fixing, payments to players, stifling of positive drug tests and racism.
The story quotes several Auburn players and teammates of McNeil who seem to back up the topic of discussion. (Note-McNeil is up on charges for attempted armed robbery which is the crux of the story. Those charges he vehemently denies and according to the story, the evidence is shaky at best)
Read the entire story on Roopstigo.com RIGHT HERE
Now...as to our point here.
Everyone associated with Auburn in this story now denies they said any of the things they are quoted as saying. Several saying they were "Taken out of context". And the denial of all is being pushed hard by the Alabama media, while everyone outside of the state is just shaking their heads.
Read this story by AL.com RIGHT HERE
We aren't casting judgement here, but we find it incredibly hard to believe that at least 8 different people were "Misquoted" or "Never Spoke" to Roberts. And we find it even less likely that Auburn is "Being Attacked".
Don't interpret this as an attack on Auburn either, it isn't. It's an attack on the system. We covered SEC Football for 10-plus years and are well aware that football players are not treated anything like the student population.
Alumni and fans of a school are always convinced that police and others have it out for them. If trouble surfaces, they circle the wagons. Very few, if any of the allegations in the Roopstigo story surprise us. And we would be much more surprised if the player quotes were fabricated.
Why would a reporter (in this case Selena Roberts) feel the need to do that? Yes, as a journalist, you get a bit protective, but you also have a better perspective than the reportees.
Look at it this way; if 1,000 people read a story that is somewhat controversial or is making accusations, at least 60% of those people (600 of them) will interpret it differently. These days everyone sees things the way they want to, not necessarily the way things are. It's a fact in our now "Highly Polarized" lives.
You may not see it, but it's there. Politics is the same way.
There is no discussion, there is no, "Prove I'm Wrong", you are either with us or against us. In the reporting game, the goal is to tell a story with the facts or information that you are given. And we can tell you for a FACT that 95 to 98 percent of the people who report are very thorough and don't have the agenda you think they do.
Reporters tell you what people are telling them. Columnists tell you what THEY think. Reporters don't walk in each day and say "Hmmm...how can I do this story and make ______ group of people look bad".
But it's hard to make people understand that, they can't tell the difference. They see it as an attack against them or what they believe. And there are many out there who have learned to take that and turn it against reporters. (see Politicians) And there are outlets out in the journalistic wasteland that will twist a story to fit their agenda (see Fox News and MSNBC).
But this isn't about that. It's about a culture, a lifestyle (SEC Football). Many fans in the south see it as their validation, their life.
They shouldn't.
Like we said earlier, we aren't going to cast aspersions against Auburn here. The original report may be right, may be partially right or may be all wrong. But it is NOT the first time these we've heard these types of accusations.
No, they don't get reported on often, it's very hard to get anyone to go on the record about things like this. But they do exist. They do happen. Spend time around a "Big Time" SEC program and you'll see things that would never have happened to normal students. College Football has become the primary source of incomes for many of these schools and many of these towns and both will and have done whatever is necessary to keep that cash coming in.
((NOTE---Yes, we speak vaguely about some things in our story here. That's because while we are aware some questionable things happen in College Football, we don't have documented proof--yet. And no, that isn't making accusations randomly, we won't be specific about an allegation unless we can confirm it.))
((UPDATED With More Opinion From Jon hyah...))
It's naive to say that golden handshakes never happen...
They do... everywhere... and that's part of the deal... accepted, illegal, rarely proven and the Ess-E-Cee seems to be the uniting force in all of this discussion...
But what does Selena Roberts achieve by doing this...???
One- She gets her start-up, mobile news, website some early stroke- which is what it needs to gain relevance
Two- She gets buzz
Three- She gets clicks which gets her numbers, which gets her bloated ad revenue numbers, which keeps it solvent...
Four- She gets the discussion to ramp up all over again on a topic that really is no surprise in the southeastern united states, but seemingly a shock to the white-snow covered landscape north of the Mason-Dixon Line...
Do not misunderstand, the HQ does it here when we have material to break, but we'd like to think we take a little more care than other places...
But I'm fairly certain that, whether Roberts admits it or not, the idea that Bobby Lowder (in his days of influence on campus) was never too keen on the student newspaper writing a bunch of bad stuff (of which Roberts was a part of that writing force) and eliminated the Journalism program (and rolled it into the Communications Department) is a part of her psyche and has formulated her opinions and openings for grinding an axe.
Hey, when you have therapy, you think for others as well...
A few things:
The whole dreadlocks issue- Remember Trooper Taylor had a suit against Auburn City Schools for allegedly not allowing his son to have them. If Trooper had an issue off campus, why would he have an issue on-campus...???
And, I know, it's a minor issue- but it's a refutation of an element of McNeil's whole pyramid of accusations...
Two (with subsections):
Apparently, Roberts never had a conversation with anyone in the Auburn Police Department about the issues that she brought...
Joel Erickson, however, did... he actually caught up with Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson...
Roberts misidentified police officers and their employers, didn't disclose the notion that any student who commits a Class A felony isn't allowed on campus, and failed to relay that it was Coach Gene Chizik that employed a private security force to monitor his players. It wasn't the local police who may have been keeping an eye on Auburn athletes. Yet we'll give a wink and a nod to the quote where Dawson says he doesn't treat football players any differently than regular students. Ask that same question in Starkville, Tuscaloosa, or Athens...
Charles Goldberg wrote about it in November of 2012 for al.com:
Coach Gene Chizik says Auburn has used a security and events management company since August to help enforce a curfew for players who live off campus.
The 11 p.m. curfew was set following a series of off-the-field problems involving players.
"We always do what's in the best interest of our team," Chizik said Wednesday night. "We have a curfew and we have to employ people to help us with some of the kids off campus."
Roberts is making the rounds, and getting somewhat excoriated, like this exchange on 790 The Zone in Atlanta this morning...
We know we're not done and we're know we're just getting started in this...
More when we know more...
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