Don't Believe the Talk; Auburn's Football Program Remains Solid
by Jay Coulter on Mar 14, 2011 3:00 AM CDT
in Football
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PrintWhen news broke Friday of the arrest of four Auburn players for armed robbery, I thought back to a comment ESPN's Colin Cowherd made a few years ago regarding successful college football programs.
"Show me a super successful college football program and I'll show you one that's had trouble with the law," said Cowherd. He made the comment following a rash of arrests at top programs, including Alabama. In light of the incident here at Auburn, you have to wonder if he was on to something.
Despite a flood of negative stories about the Auburn program since Friday, the roof is not caving in on the reigning national champions. The talk of this incident putting a stain on Auburn's title season and questions about how Gene Chizik runs his program is an example of sensationalism at its best.
Four kids who on the sum, played a minuscule role in Auburn's magical season, made a horrible judgment call. To enter a home with a firearm and commit an act of theft suggest these individuals have much deeper issues than any coaching staff is equipped to handle.
Does it give the football program a black eye? Of course, it does. It was perhaps the single worst off-campus incident in the program's history. Does it reflect on the entire team? These things always do.
But that doesn't mean Auburn suddenly has a character problem on its football team. The ones with the problems are sitting in the Lee County jail today.
At its core, football is a violent game. That goes without saying. There are few valedictorians starting at inside linebacker in the SEC. Former coach Tommy Tuberville always liked to say he recruited character as much as talent. I never fell for that line.
Unless they were arrested in high school, you never know what you've got until they arrive on campus. That goes for both talent and character. The cold hard truth is these kids come from homes that are less than ideal. Many live in conditions most of us could hardly imagine.
Does that somehow excuse armed robbery? No way. But it's ridiculous to suggest as many have, that Auburn coaches somehow don't run a tight ship.
On a Thursday night in March, I just don't know what Trooper Taylor could have done to stop Antonio Goodwin and Shaun Kitchens from making fools of themselves at a trailer park off Wire Road.
It's amusing to watch some in the media find a way to tie this incident to the Cam Newton controversy. They do their best to bundle it up and present Auburn as this kind of rogue program.
If it wasn't so serious, it would be laughable.
In his column yesterday, Birmingham News writer Kevin Scarbinsky cited Auburn's program as having "a serious image problem." Despite the context of the story, he does make some valid points.
"(The) court of public opinion, which already had thrown the book at Auburn based on unrelated incidents and unsubstantiated allegations, now has the strongest evidence yet to charge Chizik with running a rogue program," writes Scarbinsky.
While untrue, that's the storyline many will run with in the national media. How many times do Auburn officials have to point out that at the center of the Newton controversy is Mississippi State and Cecil Newton? Last I checked, neither were part of the Auburn football program.
Where does the story go from here?
For the four players implicated, their lives are shattered. It's a terrible tragedy on so many levels.
For the Auburn football program, it means more of the same. The school will continue to take incoming hits from news outlets across the country. Any day now, Thayer Evans will deliver another scathing attack on Auburn.
We all know the drill by now.
At the end of the day, who really cares? Auburn people have something that no one will ever take away. Try as they might, no one will take away that afternoon last season at Jordan-Hare Stadium when LSU visited.
As vindictive as they may be, they'll never take away that cool fall day in mid-November when Georgia came calling and limped out an 18-point loser.
And most importantly, we'll always have that magical afternoon in Tuscaloosa and that championship night in Glendale.
Let'em all talk. I just checked again and Auburn's still national champions.
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I voted yes on the ring question...
I firmly believe that they were a part of this team when they won the MNC. Now however, they miss out on everything else related to the team. No banquet, no White House trip, and so on.
As far as Auburn’s public image, it was at a questionable mark after the field day the media had with Cam and his Dad and how all that related to Auburn. I don’t see an end to that until the NCAA makes a final judgement, one way or another with regards to Miss ST. boosters and former players talking to recruits.
One thing to remember is, even good guys(programs) get black eyes every now and then.
WAR EAGLE!
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Can't agree on the rings.
I usually agree with everything KoolBell says but I’m sorry KB, not this time. They forfeited that honor when they made the decission to take a gun and enter that home. “Honor” is the key word. They have brought dishonor to their families, their team, their coaches, to the university for whom they represent, and to the Auburn Creed that they are suppose to believe in.
I do feel forgiveness for the four and hope that things will work out for them in the best possible way. However, give them rings of honor? No way.
I agree with you Koolbell....
The rings are for members of the NC team and regardless of what they may have done subsequent to being on that team…the fact remains they were a part of that team. Their transgressions will keep them from doing anything further as an AU team member but you can’t strip their past because of something that happened afterwards.
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
Just what I needed to read this Monday morning.
I have been waiting on the Editor’s take on the incident and it helped me look at the situation a little better. Thanks Jay.
While I am sad for what these guys did and the reflection their actions cast on their families and their former teammates, I still feel good about where Auburn is at with the program. I am confident we have a great staff of coaches (top to bottom).
AubTigerman
"The reason you come to Auburn is because of Auburn people.This is a special place, from the coaches all the way to the fans" - Andrew McCain OT
I voted no on the rings
Rings are awarded based upon participation and being members of the team, embodying all of the things that go with that organization. We have seen and heard many of the tenets expressed by this coaching staff and team members. They are the reflection of all that is good about college football and sports in general. Certainly, these individuals heard them more often than we have.
It is a special mark of both achievement and honor to be awarded one of those rings. It represents not only the work during practice and on the field of play, but also that of a special fraternity of amateur student athletes that has followed a code of discipline and determination to make these achievements possible.
But there is no honor for thieves, criminals and accomplices. Keep in mind, this was no minor fracas in the heat of the moment, but a premeditated violent crime with the threat of deadly force involving a firearm. People convicted of this aren’t even allowed to freely walk the street before ten years or more pass, much less given honors and benefits.
Pity and forgiveness are Christian virtues, so is Justice. They freely chose this path for their lives. Let them walk every step of it, without any honor or remembrance.
I'll post this reply to your post....
This also in response to PMT’s post.
I agree 100% about the honor, and achievement of those rings and what their meaning is. That’s the reason I voted to give those guys their rings.
They did participate in all practices and so forth,leading up to the winning of those rings. Most importantly though, they will not be able to wear them where they will be going. What a stark reality that will be.
A reward for hard work, teamwork, and effort sitting in a drawer somewhere, and you won’t be able to even see it for many years because of one very questionable choice they made.
They never had pity from me, their families did. My forgiveness is granted to anyone that asks for it, on their first offense.
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by KoolBell777 on Mar 14, 2011 10:00 AM CDT up reply actions
Let me share this with you
I’m a retired Army officer. A long time ago on a deployment when I was a young Platoon Leader, I had a sergeant perform admirably well beyond his rank and responsibility, so well I had written him up for a commendation. One day after we returned he was arrested for slapping his wife so hard she required hospitalization.
Now, by your estimation, I should have submitted his commendation at the same time I recommended to the commander that he should brought before a court martial.
Somehow my withholding his commendation seems to have been the better choice.
by sullivan013 on Mar 14, 2011 12:57 PM CDT up reply actions
Not a good analogy
Logically speaking, what does one have to do with the other? What was the specific commendation you wrote him up for? How long was it from the time you had made the commendation from the time you deployed back stateside?
Since you invoke military valor, tell me about the last time you heard of a Medal of Honor, DSC, Silver and Bronze stars or a Purple Heart being rescinded for civilian conduct?
Where was the Lorax when we really needed him?
by War Eagle Atlanta on Mar 14, 2011 6:54 PM CDT up reply actions
Interesting question
Because I know of at least one instance. My old Brigade Commander told me of his change of command in Vietnam. The previous commander was being recommended for a Silver Star when it became evident that the reason for his heroics (fighting off an enemy assault) was because he had failed to inspect his subordinate unit deployments, leaving a gap in the perimeter which the enemy exploited. His subsequent valor was exemplary, but once the truth was known about him, he was relieved on the spot.
And before you state ‘civilian conduct’ again, one is subject to the UCMJ at all times, not just when in uniform.
Same goes for football players and being members of the Auburn football team. Just ask any member of the coaching staff.
I'll ask you this...
Let’s just say that you had already wrote that commendation, and then a month later he was found to have done what you said. Would you then write a letter of non-commendation? It would be up to base commander then right?
Now, what if the two events were two months apart, and the commendation had already been approved? I am not military, I understand that these questions are from an inexperienced point of view.
Come and join me at http://trackemtigers.com
I was
thinking of civilian conduct more or less after time in service, with a clear distinction between the two intervals. Your example of what I assume was a brigade commander sounds like one continuous chain of events, which doesn’t fall within the framework of the argument I presented above because of that and the fact that the decoration was never received.
Not to mention it sounds like the old man trying to scare his current battalion/company commander with a good story.
Where was the Lorax when we really needed him?
by War Eagle Atlanta on Mar 14, 2011 9:07 PM CDT up reply actions
Not the case
He had just been promoted to his first star (he retired with four), I was a junior captain who was now a TAC Officer at OCS. I had served with him as a Cav Platoon Leader when he was my BDE Cdr. The time in question was a quick speech to a group of my officer candidates as an abject lesson on command and duty responsibility vice personal achievement. That’s how he was – a great mentor who spoke from the heart and was always ready to impart professional lessons to improve his Army.
The lesson here is by their subsequent actions, any and all previous contributions are null and void. Yes, this is exactly how it should be when you betray trust. Else we would honor Benedict Arnold instead of despise him.
by sullivan013 on Mar 14, 2011 10:15 PM CDT up reply actions
Definitely, NO rigns for these individuals. And, in my current position
as arbiter of all matters, I want to say, NO rings for any of the 2010
team until their lives can be fully examinded over the next 25 years!
At such time, in the year 2035, I will release my findings on these individuals lives. I only hope that they are as blemish free as mine
and can thus receive THE RING, for they only had to endure the sacrifices
of two-a-days and broken bones, while I carry the heavy, (heavy) responsiblity of being sure that NO ring is given out in error.
I agree with you, Klell
The rings were won the night of January 10th, and even if they haven’t been issued yet, the players in question were members of the team at that point. They can now sell them on eBay for bail money for all I care.
Yes, they displayed subsequent bad conduct. However, the revisionists who would rewrite history still can’t change it.
Where was the Lorax when we really needed him?
by War Eagle Atlanta on Mar 14, 2011 6:59 PM CDT up reply actions
Well said Sullivan!!
I’m all for second chances and forgiveness, but after justice has been leveled. These kids did something totally idiotic and now they will pay the consequesnces. To be quite honest, I think the only people concerned about rings are us, because we would cherish them with all of our heart. Those kids won’t realize what they have thrown away, until they are much older and sullen with their loss.
Col.Angus may be rough, Col.Angus may not smell like a bed of roses, but deep down Col.Angus is very sweet. If I overstay my welcome, just tap me on the head!!
I have a strong suspicion that "those kids"...
realize all to well what they have thrown away right now.
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
The four former players forgot ...
… they represent more than a football team. They represented Everything Auburn and as far as I’m concerned they recklessly through all that away last Friday.
I wished they had remembered what Coach Chizik says to his players on the opening of the ‘Auburn Everyday’ TV program, “This place was made great long before you got here. Keep it that way – Every day!”
Represent more than a football team?
“Remember you represent more than a football team. When you put that championship ring on, just remember what it means. Wear it with pride, wear it with class, and believe in Auburn.”
Lloyd Nix Quarterback of the 1957 National Championship Team, at the 2010 celebration.
AubTigerman
"The reason you come to Auburn is because of Auburn people.This is a special place, from the coaches all the way to the fans" - Andrew McCain OT
by aubtigerman on Mar 14, 2011 12:14 PM CDT up reply actions
I voted no, but I totally see Kool's points.
My ‘no’ vote has very little to do with the 4 former players, themselves as it does for their remaining teammates. I think that there needs to be a pervasive, ’ no tolerance’ message. Obviously, the coaches can’t be at these kids homes/apartments every night to tuck them in. But there needs to be a message that resonates the message, ‘playing for Auburn is an honor and a priviledge, not a right’…just like CGC said. Unfortunately, deserved or not, those kids not getting their rings, may send just that message.
by Tiger on the mountain on Mar 14, 2011 11:22 AM CDT reply actions
I agree with the zero tolerance stance....
and I believe that Chizik’s immediate action of dismissing them from the team permanently has displayed that adequately. They earned the ring by their participation in the 2010 AU football program and no amount of justification can take that from them…..just ask the heisman commitee about OJ.
I don't troll so I reserve the right to berate trolls as I see fit.
Just so you know I won't forget.....LSU Jonno predicted we would finish 5th in the west in '11.
Solid point....
I feel that ultimately there is no ‘right’ answer here, just a ‘just’ one. After reading the arguments above, I think the kids should get their rings.
by Tiger on the mountain on Mar 15, 2011 8:45 AM CDT up reply actions
Here is some more news concerning the Ohio State problems..
I am in the group that says this is troubling from a societal standpoint…..
The Columbus lawyer who tipped off Ohio State coach Jim Tressel that two of his players were involved in a federal drug trafficking case has received death threats and now says he regrets ever contacting the Buckeyes coach.
“I’m not the Judas in this situation. You know, I feel like Peter, but I’m not the Judas,” attorney Christopher Cicero said in an interview with ESPN.
Tressel has admitted he violated NCAA rules for not disclosing information Cicero e-mailed to him. He repeatedly refrained from telling Ohio State’s compliance department or his superiors about potential NCAA bylaw violations involving some of his players.
It’s part of an AP article found HERE.
Come and join me at http://trackemtigers.com
There are multiple troubling issues.
I am not a lawyer, so there may be some gray here that I will fail to appreciate. BUT, it troubles me that the lawyer broke privilege to tell CJT something about the players. The rest is just fruit from the poisonous tree or whatever. Although, it is hard to argue that Jim Tressel had significant responsibility with that info and he chose to do nothing. Bad to worse.
by Tiger on the mountain on Mar 14, 2011 2:06 PM CDT up reply actions
only point i dont really agree with
For the four players implicated, their lives are shattered. It’s a terrible tragedy on so many levels.
right there…
The part about it being a tragedy FOR them, and not BECAUSE of them. I mean come on, you are part of a national championship team in a town that has had quiteeee a bit of time from the last one. you are KINGS in that city right now ! Those boys could practically have walked into that house and asked for anything and would have gotten it. The tragedy is the people who were robbed at gunpoint. It sucks for them to have to go through that scary experience. I shake my head continually thinking about how stupid those 4 were… age has nothing to do with it, as my moral compass was in place at that age enough to know that theft and threats are not exactly the nice thing to do. I know I am rambling, but damned if this whole story doesnt piss me off so much….. I just dont get how people who are literally in a great position do something so damned stupid ???
I also voted yes to the championship ring too, because like it or not they were a part of your squad and they earned their rings…. they also earned whatever happens to them going forward. I just wish we marquee programs could move away from this whole " criminal recruitment " spotlight we have… I have no problem with bringing kids in with a troubled past… but damned if these kids should jump at the chance to start fresh. i know rolondo mcclain is said to have had a troubled past… and he seems to have worked hard to get past that past…. same with Cam- he seemed to grow up alot too… they are good examples of what you can do. Now hopefully those for idiots are examples to all of what is NOT to be done with a great opportunity.
rtr friends and im sorry you have to deal with more crap like this
Thugs and fools....glad they are gone
With everything that Coach Chizik and this program has gone through this year, for these morons to do what they did is unfathomable….monumentally idiotic. To think that they deserve rings is laughable….they CLEARLY don’t hold the University, the program, Coach Chizik or themselves in high regard at all. What are rings going to mean to them?? I’d say about $2500 at the Pawn shop, thats what. It would be folly to give them rings, because if they will throw their lives away to break into a single wide trailer, they certainly don’t value a ring beyond its monetary value.
I am so glad that Coach Chizik moved swiftly and decisively to remove theese thugs…. and when you are a felon, thats what you are…. from the team. Most of these players have no business being on a college campus…..they don’t have the grades to make it without their athletic talents and they are being given the opportunity of their lives. They should treat it like the golden goose it is….you KNOW that at the bare minimum the coaches have imparted how important this opportunity is to their lives. Regardless of their background or family upbringing, the vast majority of poor kids don’t resort to violence and crime because they have it rough. To say that these kids turned to crime because they were poor is an insult to all the hardworking poor kids who aren’t dirtbags and know right from wrong and don’t take the “easy” way out. I have no sympathy for the kids whatsoever. I did some stupid things as a kid, but this is malicious and violent behavior that can’t be tolerated from anyone, anywhere, anytime and certainly never at Auburn University. I may have rose colored glassed regarding my school but I still expect them to recruit and matriculate young men of character. You can make a mistake, before getting there but you damn well better tow the line when you do get there. Foolishness in regards to running afoul of the law should not be tolerated….at all…and I’m glad Coach Chizik is putting that marker in the ground.
Col.Angus may be rough, Col.Angus may not smell like a bed of roses, but deep down Col.Angus is very sweet. If I overstay my welcome, just tap me on the head!!
Don't listen to the haterz, Auburn family. Remain calm.
Ann Arbor is a trollop.
Not worried a bit. Chizik is in charge and in control
Trust me, it is better to be harsh and decisive in the reaction to these types of incidents. I firmly believe that the programs that have continued problems with discipline, ALWAYS underperform on the field because they don’t truly respect their coaches. You CAN NOT win by forfeiting character and discipline….you see this currently with Mark Richt at Georgia and he is on the verge of being fired because of it. Coach Chizik ferried this team through the most tumultuous waters I’ve ever seen a team go through during a season, and I’m sure this will be a distant memory by the end of spring practice.
Col.Angus may be rough, Col.Angus may not smell like a bed of roses, but deep down Col.Angus is very sweet. If I overstay my welcome, just tap me on the head!!
Mark Richt is on the hot seat
Because his defense hasn’t stopped anybody in 3 years, not because his players get arrested by an overzealous police force for average college kid stuff. Seriously, last year we had a kid arrested for “refusing to give his middle name.”
You are probably the only person who follows college football that thinks Mark Richt in any way sacrifices character.
no he isnt
They gonna be a lot of days when you lay your guts on the line and you come up empty-handed. They ain't a damn thing you can do about it but go back and lay 'em on the line again, and again, and again....You'll keep fightin' like you did today, you'll keep playin' like that, we can build a foundation we can live a looong, long time on at Auburn." -Pat Dye, 1981
by SandMountainTiger on Mar 14, 2011 10:44 PM CDT reply actions
I want to make a point here...
While I completely agree with Chizik’s decision, that choice doesn’t mean he’s all that great. In my mind, it’s the only choice he really had. How hard is it to dismiss four players that robbed someone at gunpoint in their own house? I am glad he did that, but it doesn’t make him an outstanding person or coach for making that decision. Things in the past in my view are what can accurately give him that kind of title.
I definitely voted no about the rings. They betrayed Auburn, their families, friends, and their own lives when they made that kind of decision. You guys all have well spoken arguments, but you won’t change my mind on that one-trust me.
I’m still sick about this whole thing. This is truly pathetic. I even have to wonder why three of the ones who did it were the coaching staff’s recruits. That really bothers me. If they’re that interested in character, why did we have players robbing someone at gunpoint? I know they can’t control anyone off the field. Believe me, I get that completely. But, it seems to me that a couple of them must have a bit of a violent past at some point. I mean did four guys who never got in trouble all of a sudden rob someone at gunpoint in their own home? The same season they won a national championship and basically had keys to the great community of Auburn. I just don’t get it, and I have to wonder about the rest of the players we recruited now. It bothers me.
It's Auburn against the world. Good luck world.
The rings are theirs...
…as is the shame that comes with the knowledge of what they did. It will remind them of what they have thrown away.
It will also remind Auburn (and every other school) about the fragility of being on top of the world. When a roman general returned to Rome at the head of a conquering army, he would ride through the streets in triumphal procession. At the same time, he would often have a slave on his chariot that would whisper in his ear “sic transit gloria mundi.”
by first and thom on Mar 16, 2011 10:49 AM CDT reply actions
All glory is fleeting.
Big Patton fan, I see.
Where was the Lorax when we really needed him?
by War Eagle Atlanta on Mar 16, 2011 6:16 PM CDT up reply actions
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