Gene Chizik: Allegations at Mississippi State led to assumptions about Cam Newton at Auburn

BY Brandon Marcello
22 April 2013

AUBURN, Alabama -- Former Auburn coachGene Chizik believes assumptions led to his program being unfairly scrutinized in the media during the Tigers' run to a national championship in 2010.

Chizik, after a fiery and passionate in-studio interview with WJOX in Birmingham, spoke to local reporters in Auburn on Monday evening. Speaking at length, but never lacking emotion, the out-of-work coach came to the defense of his former teams and the university that fired him in December.

"It’s really just hard to operate day by day with what I consider to be the most scrutinized, and sometimes villainized, program in the country," Chizik said.

The allegations, ranging from wrongdoing, grade changes and pay-for-play, to widespread use of synthetic marijuana, were discussed at length by the coach, who said he was on a mission of truth.

The cloud of allegations and what he calls assumptions, he says, stemmed from an NCAA investigation at a rival school in the SEC West: Mississippi State.

"What is somewhat of an enigma to me is how back in 2010 what started out as a Mississippi State problem, all of a sudden became an Auburn problem," Chizik said. "It never ended. It went on for 13 or 14 months and then there seemed to be a trail that kept following a lot of accusations, a lot of allegations but I'm looking for facts. It's very difficult for the Auburn people, and it's not fair."

The recruitment of quarterback Cam Newton while he was at Blinn (Texas) Junior College in 2009 caught the eyes of the SEC and NCAA, when key figures involved in his recruitment at MSU alerted investigators that his father, Cecil, attempted to solicit money from the Bulldogs. MSU would go on to disassociate itself from booster Kenny Rogers and clear itself of any wrongdoing.

The ensuing scandal cast a cloud over the Auburn program, but the NCAA found that Auburn committed no violations following a 13-month investigation.

"So, how that became a Mississippi State issue, and then all the sudden it was assumed – and there were accusations out there – well, if something happened there, it had to have happened here, I don’t see the logic in it," Chizik said. "Because obviously they left and found that there was nothing there."

What has followed in the years since is a deluge of allegations and accusations from former players -- from an HBO Sports special alleging pay-for-play, to recent reports penned by Selena Roberts of Roopstigo.com and another ESPN story concerning synthetic marijuana use at Auburn.

Chizik also finds it hard to believe that the alleged events, which the reports say occurred when the NCAA set up shop in Auburn to investigate Newton, were not discussed or brought to light earlier.

The NCAA found no major violations in that 13-month probe, which included interviews of 80 people and was under way when most of the allegations made by Mike McNeil in the Roopstigo.com report would have taken place.

"I’m going to go one step further for all the people that are educated and have common sense," Chizik said. "If you don’t know how the NCAA works, they’re very thorough in their investigations. Let me make that clear: they’re very thorough in their investigations. You want me to back that up with fact? I’ll name ‘em: Miami, Ohio State, North Carolina. Most recently, Oregon. USC. So how could they come into Auburn and leave and find nothing, and that becomes a one-sentence statement after getting drug through the mud for 13 months? How is that right? It’s not right."

Chizik said he has no plans to pursue legal action against Roberts or other media entities, including ESPN, which briefly employed him as a guest analyst on National Signing Day (Feb. 6).

"If everybody in journalism was measured 12 times on a Saturday by what they wrote, what they put out, what was on TV, it would be really interesting to see what their record would be, like coaches," said Chizik, who fired after in November after a 3-9 season. "I'm not going to point the finger at anybody, I'm only going to address that I think were false, unsubstantiated allegations."