ESPNW report on sexual harassment

[boomstick 1,315]

16 minutes ago, oracle79 said:

Threats of criminal charges against whistle blowers by an employee of the athletic department would qualify as "harassment/intimidation/retaliation/abusive" by most open minded individuals.  A relationship between a university employee and a student may not be illegal in Alabama, but it is unethical by any educator certification bodies, and most likely violated the employee contract with the University I'd bet.

Apparently, Auburn does have a rule in place for this scenario:

INTIMATE RELATIONS POLICY
Auburn University prohibits all faculty, administrators and supervisors, including graduate teaching assistants, from pursuing or engaging in romantic or sexual relationships with students, both graduate and undergraduate, whom they are currently supervising or teaching, as well as with employees whom they are currently supervising. Violations should be promptly reported to the University’s Affirmative Action Office. Violations of this policy will be addressed through appropriate disciplinary action.

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

Softball under "comprehensive review" per AU President Leath.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/08/auburn_university_president.html#incart_river_index

[keesler 5,924]

11 minutes ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

Any legal experts know about the situation mentioned above? Was Jenkins correct to keep this case closed or was this an empty threat just to preserve AUs face?

Regardless- this sounds more and more like a situation in which a bunch people in leadership positions failed to do their job(s).

Great question, I wonder what happened to the police report?

[Mike4AU 1,739]

Lightfoot Franklin is a top flight law firm and will leave no stone unturned.  You can bet there will be no whitewash. 

[PowerOfDixieland 3,226]

This from Cassie Arner, associate athletic director for strategic communications:

Jacobs told AL.com on April 27 he had no knowledge of any investigation into Corey Myers. Arner told ESPN Jacobs' comments were "unfortunate" and possibly "misleading.":

.

In my world "intentionally vague" is as good as a flat out lie...especially when your protecting a predator.  But for Jay Jacobs it's just unfortunate.

[AU64 10,122]

40 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

Softball under "comprehensive review" per AU President Leath.

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2017/08/auburn_university_president.html#incart_river_index

Good to hear ...and as noted earlier, JMO but everyone on the staff should be subject to dismissal not just the ones gone thus far. 

Don't see how the school can keep anyone after this...rest of the coaches, Jenkins and if it goes to JJ, that's OK with me except that getting rid of him would about destroy this forum for the foreseeable future .....not having JJ to blame for everything.

[oracle79 3,569]

Al.com will unfortunately probably need to file a lawsuit against Auburn University to enforce compliance with it's request for info under FOIA.  As long as AU redacts the names of the students, I don't see what the problem is in releasing said info.

[auburnphan 6,050]

1 hour ago, Randman5000 said:

This how some posters on here are reacting...trying to poke holes in stories...complaining about taking pictures with phones. How about the coaches and a teammate betrayed them. CCM betrayed his family. They came forward because it was wrong. Maybe they reacted by taking photos without permission but The Auburn family and Auburn women need support not former coaches... but the women on the softball team and the Auburn family. That's what we should be doing

If you are implying me by stating that a criminal law was broken by the students, you are lost. I just stated something that everyone should have been capable of putting together themselves that I have known for months about this case.   I never stated my opinion, and I will damn well guarantee that it was an issue in this situation and it was handed off to lawyers to address appropriate action on how to handle it.  Do you think the girl just handed the phone over?  Do you think there may have been a physical confrontation?  It is way more complicated and worth noting.  In no way am I defending the Myers.  

[steeleagle 2,945]

36 minutes ago, PowerOfDixieland said:

This from Cassie Arner, associate athletic director for strategic communications:

Jacobs told AL.com on April 27 he had no knowledge of any investigation into Corey Myers. Arner told ESPN Jacobs' comments were "unfortunate" and possibly "misleading.":

.

In my world "intentionally vague" is as good as a flat out lie...especially when your protecting a predator.  But for Jay Jacobs it's just unfortunate.

Somehow I missed who was quoted saying "intentionally vague".  I never saw where Jenkins made this comment about JJ. 

JJ is in trouble and certainly mishandled the situation. 

[IronMan70 3,277]

Eventually we will know the details on what the people involved did. However what we already know about the way this was handled is concerning. The AD knew exactly why Cory was leaving and it wasn't just, "to be with the family." That was either a lie at worst, or a half truth at best. But instead of saying "no comment" or "he was terminated" or "there is an ongoing investigation", his choice was to mislead the Auburn community. The AD is there to handle these things properly. Auburn deserves better.

[OlderWhiskey 953]

4 hours ago, WDE_OxPx_2010 said:

Any legal experts know about the situation mentioned above? Was Jenkins correct to keep this case closed or was this an empty threat just to preserve AUs face?

Regardless- this sounds more and more like a situation in which a bunch people in leadership positions failed to do their job(s).

My initial reaction was that Ms. Jenkins was covering up.  But the more I think about it, I believe she may have been protecting the players who had the stolen screenshots on their phones.  At this point, Corey had already resigned. The stolen property could not be used as evidence.  The players who had those screenshots were in possession of stolen property, and at risk of being arrested upon complaint, although I think this was a low probability. 

[AU64 10,122]

POD...."predator?"....that is pretty rough when we don't even know who initiated the relationship and apparently the young lady was of legal age.

No evidence offered that he had any improper involvement with anyone else.

And the athletic department has done a good job of protecting the names of players despite media pressure to "tell all".

[Mikey 16,578]

13 hours ago, oracle79 said:

Al.com will unfortunately probably need to file a lawsuit against Auburn University to enforce compliance with it's request for info under FOIA.  As long as AU redacts the names of the students, I don't see what the problem is in releasing said info.

Responding to an FOIA request takes longer than one might think. Authorities, and in this case a team of lawyers as well, go over every word with a magnifying glass before it can be released. A simple list of, say, who bought what at Mom's Shoe Shop can take weeks or months to clear.

[keesler 5,924]

1 hour ago, Mikey said:

Responding to an FOIA request takes longer than one might think. Authorities, and in this case a team of lawyers as well, go over every word with a magnifying glass before it can be released. A simple list of, say, who bought what at Mom's Shoe Shop can take weeks or months to clear.

This is true, but it's been +5 months since AL.com requested the info and they've received no response from AU.  

Personally I don't mind AU stalling on this, but I can also see where the people making the request could grow impatient and want to force the issue legally to obtain the info.

[DAG 33,980]

On August 29, 2017 at 3:44 PM, boomstick said:

Here's another article:

Auburn, Ala. (EETV) - Hours after a report released by ESPNW revealed shocking allegations against the Auburn Softball program for abuse and sexual harassment allegations, a former player exclusively reveals shocking details to EETV.

“You could simply tell they blamed everything on us,” said the former player that wishes to remain anonymous. “They treated us as if we betrayed them.”

The ESPN report revealed that Auburn softball player Alexa Nemeth filed a letter alleging abusive treatment by the Auburn softball coaching staff and a pattern of sexual harassment.

However, the story begins at a much earlier date. The story begins in the fall of 2016 when rumors of a relationship between assistant coach Corey Myers and a player surfaced.

“At first none of the players believed the accusations,” said the former player.

Following the rumors, an investigation began to look into the rumors; Corey took a week off.

“Head coach Clint Myers told us players to rally behind and stand up for Corey Myers,” said the former player. “So we did because we still didn’t believe it.”

The teams rallying efforts brought Corey back to the team and according to our source, the situation died down.

After Christmas break, she says things ramped back up.

“Someone actually caught Corey and this former player holding hands,” our anonymous source reveals.

The player who caught Corey went to Clint Myers immediately to inform him of the situation. According to the source, Clint Myers blew off the allegation as if it did not happen.

As weeks passed there were no new developments, until an away series. Corey and the former player were caught talking behind a stairwell past the player’s curfew.

The next day, while on the way to the field, one of the team members saw the player, who was allegedly in a relationship with Corey, texting him.

“She [another member of the team] immediately got her phone and took screenshots,” said the former player. “Later looking at the screenshots and reading them, she immediately knew that everything was a lie.”

After the text messages were discovered, there was a team meeting before leaving for the Georgia series.

“Every girl on the team except the player in the relationship was locked inside our team room for four hours,” said the former player.

During that meeting, the team learned that Corey would no longer be coaching.

Associate AD Meredith Jenkins was also at the team meeting and was aware of the pictures of the text messages between Corey and the former player.

According to our anonymous source, Jenkins told the players “a police report had been filed and that if we had the picture we could face criminal charges.”

After telling the team about the police report, she pulled the five players with the pictures aside and “basically told them that she knew they had them and repeated herself and told them they could face criminal charges with the pictures on their phones.”

According to our source, following the meeting, the seniors went to Clint Myers's office and told them that if the player in the relationship was coming on the trip to Georgia then none of them would get on the bus.

“After 45 minutes of talking, the player decided herself not to attend the series at Georgia,” said the former player.

After the Georgia series, the climate of the softball team changed dramatically. The demeanors of Clint Myers and Coach Casey Myers changed.

“Coach Clint Myers said that ‘we betrayed the family,” the former player said. “Everything changed for the worse after the Georgia series.”

http://www.eagleeyeauburn.com/article/2017/08/exclusive-former-player-details-abusive-environment-inside-auburn-softball

This is just crazy. The professionals in this situation should've handled this much better if this was at all accurate. First, dealing with that coach for his nonsense. Secondly, distinguishing the fire which occurred among the team members. It is one thing to ostracize the coach (well deserved), but it got super personal between teammates and this definitely should've been resolved. But more importantly, why the heck are the players put in a position where they have to play detective? As soon as there was a hint of an allegation, there should've been a serious come to Jesus meeting by the experienced adults.

[AU64 10,122]

6 minutes ago, DAG said:

This is just crazy. The professionals in this situation should've handled this much better if this was at all accurate. First, dealing with that coach for his nonsense. Secondly, distinguishing the fire which occurred among the team members. It is one thing to ostracize the coach (well deserved), but it got super personal between teammates and this definitely should've been resolved.

Absolutely ...but much easier said than done.  So what happens now.?

We have a player or players lying about a coach having sexual relations and / or harassing multiple players and making those claims in a  Title IX allegation that was distributed and published by national media.....and yet there seems to be no evidence that such things took place as implied or stated.   It appears to a bogus or certainly much exaggerated Title IX complaint that besmirched the reputations of a good many people. 

The real issue in my assessment at least....was the relationship between one coach and one player that a number of other players disapproved of...an d not saying they did not have good reason.  The issue now however is how they went about "solving" that problem and how many people got hurt in the process. 

Along the way,  several players violated the privacy of a team mate and stole texts off her private phone and disclosed those texts to other players (most likely) and coaches also.   Much of that activity could be illegal and most of it was guaranteed to fracture relationships on the team  since there and is no indication that the entire team shared their feelings about Corey.     As noted....this seemed to be a super personal thing, even  to the extent that a couple players were willing to boycott a ballgame over it.   And then there was the retaliation and drug arrests and at least one player was driven off the team. 

We also have a couple of other coaches and assistants who apparently sat by while all of this was going on and a did nothing to help settle things down though maybe they tried and just could not make it happen. . Feelings definitely lingered and the Title IX was filed well after the season was over and the player filing it was quite happy that Clint had "retired" so that she could come back to Auburn. 

So now:    do all the participating players just go forward as if nothing happened ?

[Randman5000 4,226]

21 hours ago, auburnphan said:

If you are implying me by stating that a criminal law was broken by the students, you are lost. I just stated something that everyone should have been capable of putting together themselves that I have known for months about this case.   I never stated my opinion, and I will damn well guarantee that it was an issue in this situation and it was handed off to lawyers to address appropriate action on how to handle it.  Do you think the girl just handed the phone over?  Do you think there may have been a physical confrontation?  It is way more complicated and worth noting.  In no way am I defending the Myers.  

Read my OP,  you can be the judge whether that applies to you.

I don't care what the lawyers say or if they felt the need to get evidence of an inappropriate relationship. We will to  need support these Auburn Women who have given alot to the program over the last three years... or this turns into our own Baylor. Pointing out what they did wrong is missing the whole point.

[boomstick 1,315]

53 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Absolutely ...but much easier said than done.  So what happens now.?

We have a player or players lying about a coach having sexual relations and / or harassing multiple players and making those claims in a  Title IX allegation that was distributed and published by national media.....and yet there seems to be no evidence that such things took place as implied or stated.   It appears to a bogus or certainly much exaggerated Title IX complaint that besmirched the reputations of a good many people. 

The real issue in my assessment at least....was the relationship between one coach and one player that a number of other players disapproved of...an d not saying they did not have good reason.  The issue now however is how they went about "solving" that problem and how many people got hurt in the process. 

Along the way,  several players violated the privacy of a team mate and stole texts off her private phone and disclosed those texts to other players (most likely) and coaches also.   Much of that activity could be illegal and most of it was guaranteed to fracture relationships on the team  since there and is no indication that the entire team shared their feelings about Corey.     As noted....this seemed to be a super personal thing, even  to the extent that a couple players were willing to boycott a ballgame over it.   And then there was the retaliation and drug arrests and at least one player was driven off the team. 

We also have a couple of other coaches and assistants who apparently sat by while all of this was going on and a did nothing to help settle things down though maybe they tried and just could not make it happen. . Feelings definitely lingered and the Title IX was filed well after the season was over and the player filing it was quite happy that Clint had "retired" so that she could come back to Auburn. 

So now:    do all the participating players just go forward as if nothing happened ?

The bolded is a sad part about this situation. They complained and complained in various ways but nothing could be done because no one could prove it, and I imagine the players took heat from coaches and some teammates. It took them stealing a phone and text messages to prove it. Stealing a phone is never appropriate. So it's tough to realize they proved themselves right, although having to result in illegal tactics. 

[AlaskanFAN 1,665]

Still trying to figure out how Nemeth fits into this whole Cory "relationship", text message screen shot, Cory resignation,  GA series protest, un-named player (Emily Spain) leaves school. Especially if some of the players interviewed say the "relationship" between player and coach" started back in 2016 when Nemeth was not even at Auburn, she was in high school? Not following the time line of her involvement, since all the interviews and stories mention nothing of her except for the fact she is the one that filed the "Letter of Allegation".

[AU64 10,122]

2 minutes ago, boomstick said:

The bolded is a sad part about this situation. They complained and complained in various ways but nothing could be done because no one could prove it, and I imagine the players took heat from coaches and some teammates. It took them stealing a phone and text messages to prove it. Stealing a phone is never appropriate. So it's tough to realize they proved themselves right, although having to result in illegal tactics. 

Just wondering if the fallout was worth it?  Lots of people damaged...it wasn't just about the phone messages....a bit of character assassination too even about fellow players

[boomstick 1,315]

21 minutes ago, AU64 said:

Just wondering if the fallout was worth it?  Lots of people damaged...it wasn't just about the phone messages....a bit of character assassination too even about fellow players

IMO yes you report it, if the atmosphere is what was alleged. You have to think too that parents could've been involved in getting their daughter to take that info to administrators. As a parent, I sure would've encouraged my daughter to report it because I wouldn't want to think a coach who was capable of that to be coaching her. 

[OlderWhiskey 953]

More of Nemeth's allegations can be found in the Auburn Plainsman:  http://www.theplainsman.com/article/2017/08/who-knew-what-when-players-met-with-athletics-administrators-for-relief

I think that just went up about an hour ago.  She claims at least three players involved in relationships.

 

[DAG 33,980]

1 hour ago, AU64 said:

Absolutely ...but much easier said than done.  So what happens now.?

We have a player or players lying about a coach having sexual relations and / or harassing multiple players and making those claims in a  Title IX allegation that was distributed and published by national media.....and yet there seems to be no evidence that such things took place as implied or stated.   It appears to a bogus or certainly much exaggerated Title IX complaint that besmirched the reputations of a good many people. 

The real issue in my assessment at least....was the relationship between one coach and one player that a number of other players disapproved of...an d not saying they did not have good reason.  The issue now however is how they went about "solving" that problem and how many people got hurt in the process. 

Along the way,  several players violated the privacy of a team mate and stole texts off her private phone and disclosed those texts to other players (most likely) and coaches also.   Much of that activity could be illegal and most of it was guaranteed to fracture relationships on the team  since there and is no indication that the entire team shared their feelings about Corey.     As noted....this seemed to be a super personal thing, even  to the extent that a couple players were willing to boycott a ballgame over it.   And then there was the retaliation and drug arrests and at least one player was driven off the team. 

We also have a couple of other coaches and assistants who apparently sat by while all of this was going on and a did nothing to help settle things down though maybe they tried and just could not make it happen. . Feelings definitely lingered and the Title IX was filed well after the season was over and the player filing it was quite happy that Clint had "retired" so that she could come back to Auburn. 

So now:    do all the participating players just go forward as if nothing happened ?

10

No, the primary issue is the fact that a professional deemed it was okay to have an inappropriate relationship with a player (Assumption), which led to hurt feelings and otherwise irrational behavior. If the experienced adults in this manner had acted accordingly, it would NOT have spilled over to such a situation of vindication among the team. Likewise, you are dealing with a bunch of young adults here.  I am sure they have never had to deal with such a situation before, therefore, it does not surprise me in the responses of the team. However, proverbial wisdom needed to be kicked in with a situation like this.

Of course, you don't move forward in ignorance. Like everything else in life, you see it through, taking into the consequences and hopefully learning from them

[boomstick 1,315]

33 minutes ago, OlderWhiskey said:

More of Nemeth's allegations can be found in the Auburn Plainsman:  http://www.theplainsman.com/article/2017/08/who-knew-what-when-players-met-with-athletics-administrators-for-relief

I think that just went up about an hour ago.  She claims at least three players involved in relationships.

 

At this point, I think more people are going to have to start speaking out if this is going to progress much more. Nemeth does seem upset, although I'm not sure the order of events that is causing her grievance. I believe there is more to this story, but I don't believe there's much more Nemeth can add that would be beneficial. 

[around4ever 4,139]

15 minutes ago, boomstick said:

At this point, I think more people are going to have to start speaking out if this is going to progress much more. Nemeth does seem upset, although I'm not sure the order of events that is causing her grievance. I believe there is more to this story, but I don't believe there's much more Nemeth can add that would be beneficial. 

Oh, it is progressing.  There are more than just Nemeth speaking out.