In college football, 2010 was the Year of the Tiger. The Auburn Tigers quarterback, Cam Newton captured the Heisman and led Auburn to a perfect season and a national championship. Yet it is not these events for which they will be remembered.
Here is what they will now be remembered for:
*Failed drug tests. The culprit was synthetic marijuana, otherwise know as “spice.” Tests were conducted six months after the championship game in early January 2011. Of the 799 “spice” tests conducted on Auburn athletes there were 18 positive tests; 12 of which were student athletes on the football team, including star running back Michael Dyer.
But here’s the catch…Auburn didn’t install “spice” drug testing until after it won the championship. Since synthetic marijuana was a relatively newfound problem at Auburn, it wasn’t part of the university’s official drug-testing policy. Even if a player tested positive, the university could not punish the students in any way. High-ranking members of the Auburn’s athletic department kept any positive tests confidential; not even the player’s parents were notified of a positive test.
The players knew they could get away with it too. “The whole time, I was thinking, they can’t do nothing about the spice,” stated then-freshman tight end, Dakota Mosley. Mosley failed tests for the drug for a consecutive seven week. All that came of these failed drug tests was a meeting with former coach Gene Chizik. In the end, Mosley was able to keep his spot on the roster.
*Armed robbery. Four members of the 2010 National Championship team were charged with armed robbery in March 2011. All involved were later dismissed from the team. Former defensive back, Mike McNeil, received a 15-year split sentence. Wide receiver Antonio Goodwin is currently serving a 15-year sentence, while Mosley and wide receiver Shaun Kitchens are still awaiting trial. Dyer was also involved in the robbery since it was revealed that his handgun was used to conduct the robbery.
*Grade changes. A new report uncovered that just before the BCS national championship game, academic eligibility issues arose for as many as nine Auburn players, including the game’s eventual MVP, Dyer. McNeil said when he spoke to an athletic department counselor and confronted the counselor about a failing grade in a computer science class, the grade was changed to a passing “C”.
*Cash payments. In order to keep players from turning pro, cash incentives were allegedly offered to bribe players into staying. The allegation is that the players were given cash to host recruits, cash way beyond $50 NCAA limit allowed to be spent on top-tier recruits in order to impress them. Former Auburn wide receiver, Darvin Adams, said that coaches had offered him thousands of dollars to return for his senior year of eligibility rather than going professional.
The demise of Auburn shows what the college sports world is coming to. In order to build a national championship caliber team, schools will do whatever it feels necessary, even if it blatantly violates NCAA rules and sanctions. Thus proving that cheaters do, in fact, win.
