Auburn Football: HBO Special Looks Damning, But Proves Nothing

Stanley McClover

The internet was abuzz late yesterday after portions of an HBO program—airing tonight—were leaked by the website, SportsByBrooks. In the segment, four former Auburn football players go on-the-record and say they were paid by the school to both secure and keep their services.

While all four players had plenty of dirt to dish, some of the more eyebrow-raising statements came from the mouth of Stanley McClover, a former defensive star, who stated that he switched his commitment from Ohio State to Auburn after receiving a bookbag full of money. 

Here is how McClover described the incident to Andrea Kremer:

Kremer voiceover: “McClover says what he asked for was money. A lot of it. And that he got it. Delivered in a bookbag, exact amount unknown.”

Kremer to McClover: “You opened it up, what are you thinking?”

McClover: “I almost passed out. I literally almost passed out I couldn’t believe it was true. I felt like I owed them.”

Kremer to McClover: “You felt obligated to them (Auburn)?”

McClover: “I felt totally obligated.”

Kremer to McClover: “Because of the money?”

McClover: “Yeah.”

As wild as that sounds, McClover isn't bringing anything new to the table where accusations about pay-to-play at Auburn is concerned.

Former head coach, Terry Bowden, expressed a similar account in 2001—although it would be two-years before anyone knew of his statements—when he told a reporter "They [Auburn Boosters] were paying players cash, $12,000, $15,000 to sign...all I was told to do was shake hands and say, 'Thank you. I appreciate how much you love Auburn."

The collective fingers have been pointing in Auburn's direction for years.

That said, the one thing the HBO expose doesn't seem to offer is the one thing that would make this story the most damning—proof.

You can hate the Auburn Tigers all you want, but until the fire starts surfacing on all this smoke, it's much ado about nothing. And if you think NCAA investigators are on a plane to Auburn at this very moment, don't hold your breath.

Marc Emmert (NCAA's idiot President) already looks like a shill for how he's handle some very high profile cases—Cam Newton, Ohio State, Jim Tressel, etc.—and he's not looking to make any moves towards further tarnishing his already fragile reputation by investigating Auburn based on a few claims by some previous players.

Those accusations will need to be accompanied by something more valid—a paper trail, a name, or a tape would be a nice start—before this debacle takes on the shape of something more than just a witch hunt.

That's just being honest.

In the end, it's another blemish on Auburn's resume—at least in the court of public opinion—but when you get right down to it, without proof, this is just another juicy story.

Related articles

• "SportsbyBrooks: Four Former Auburn Players Make Pay-for-Play Allegations" and related posts (rollbamaroll.com)
• Report: Four former Auburn players got cash (sports.espn.go.com)