Tigers arrested

[OldNewby 27]

CGC was exactly correct to dismiss them all from the team.

However the university needs to hold off on expelling them, of course they will flunk out if they cannot make bail.

Remember Duke and the Lacrosse team players. There was an alleged rape and Duke expelled the suspected students and fired their coach. That case resulted in Duke paying lots of money to those ex students

Hey, the five victims aren't encyclopedia salesmen are they?

[cptau 169]

CGC was exactly correct to dismiss them all from the team.

However the university needs to hold off on expelling them, of course they will flunk out if they cannot make bail.

Remember Duke and the Lacrosse team players. There was an alleged rape and Duke expelled the suspected students and fired their coach. That case resulted in Duke paying lots of money to those ex students

The cops pulled them over in the car that the victims described and found the stolen property and a handgun in the car with them. If it's not open and shut, it's about a millimeter shy of it.

Just saying AU needs to be careful. Duke was not. Unless they confess and plea bargain. This needs to go to trial and all the facts come out. i think their probably guilty too, but they need their day in court for the school to take additional action against them. As I said, it a moot point, they'll funk out or quit. They may not make bond for weeks and not being allowed to play football ever again probably causes them to leave campus on their own

[RunInRed 16,407]

Just a thought. Do you think Mosely knew what was going in?

What's your reasoning for singling out Mosely?

Reading comprehension!

The article said three black males entered the home. Since I was a math major, I did the math.

Thanks for the clarification.

[weagl1 1,784]

There is no rehabilitation for people who would take a gun, break in someone's home, and rob them. Those guys are going to jail for a very long time and they deserve it. Hard to believe people with no more character than that were a part of our team. I am really disappointed in the players involved and in our coaching staff for bringing such thugs into our family.

[stoic-one 1,543]

CGC was exactly correct to dismiss them all from the team.

However the university needs to hold off on expelling them, of course they will flunk out if they cannot make bail.

Remember Duke and the Lacrosse team players. There was an alleged rape and Duke expelled the suspected students and fired their coach. That case resulted in Duke paying lots of money to those ex students

The cops pulled them over in the car that the victims described and found the stolen property and a handgun in the car with them. If it's not open and shut, it's about a millimeter shy of it.

Just saying AU needs to be careful. Duke was not. Unless they confess and plea bargain. This needs to go to trial and all the facts come out. i think their probably guilty too, but they need their day in court for the school to take additional action against them. As I said, it a moot point, they'll funk out or quit. They may not make bond for weeks and not being allowed to play football ever again probably causes them to leave campus on their own

What will cause them to leave campus will more than likely be jail time.

Well that and not having scholarships anymore.

[banditmwp 712]

There is no rehabilitation for people who would take a gun, break in someone's home, and rob them. Those guys are going to jail for a very long time and they deserve it. Hard to believe people with no more character than that were a part of our team. I am really disappointed in the players involved and in our coaching staff for bringing such thugs into our family.

Yep, because they asked each recruit if they ever thought of robbing anyone, and singled out the ones that said yes and offered them scholarships.

[RunInRed 16,407]

Mike McNeil tweet from two days ago RT @Mike_McNeil_RL I need money like a pill need water...

@wareagleextra

[TitanTiger 20,479]

There is no rehabilitation for people who would take a gun, break in someone's home, and rob them. Those guys are going to jail for a very long time and they deserve it. Hard to believe people with no more character than that were a part of our team. I am really disappointed in the players involved and in our coaching staff for bringing such thugs into our family.

Idiot alert.

[OldNewby 27]

Four Auburn football players arrested

ESPN.com news services

Updated: March 11, 2011, 4:47 PM ET

Four Auburn football players have been kicked off the team after being arrested and charged with robbery, burglary and theft.

Mike McNeil, Antonio Goodwin, Shaun Kitchens and Dakota Mosley all were arrested early Friday morning in Auburn, Ala.

Auburn police said that three black men entered a house about three miles from campus, and one displayed a handgun. Police said they stole property.

After a motor vehicle stop, the four were arrested and a pistol and stolen property were recovered, according to Auburn police. Mosley is white.

The four players were charged with five counts of first-degree robbery, one count of first-degree burglary -- both of which are felonies -- and one count of third-degree theft. All four were being held in the Lee County Detention Center on $511,000 bail.

Later Friday, Auburn coach Gene Chizik issued a statement saying all four players were thrown off the team.

"The players arrested in connection with this deeply troubling incident have been permanently dismissed from our football team," Chizik said in a statement. "While we realize the legal process will run its course and these young men have a right for their case to be heard, playing for Auburn University is an honor and a privilege. It is not a right."

Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said in a statement: "This type of behavior will not be tolerated at Auburn. I fully support Coach Chizik's swift and decisive action to dismiss these four student-athletes from our football team effective immediately."

Goodwin, Kitchens and Mosley all were part of the 2010 signing class ranked No. 4 in the nation by ESPNU Recruiting. Mosley redshirted last season. Goodwin and Kitchens played primarily on special teams.

McNeil, a rising senior, led Auburn with 14 tackles in the BCS title game. He was expected to return to anchor the Tigers' secondary next season.

"I am extremely disappointed and embarrassed by the actions of these individuals," Chizik said in a statement. "I want to personally apologize to all of those who were impacted by this senseless act, including the victims, Auburn University and the Auburn family."

link: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6206921

[cptau 169]

Does anybody know what the AU football team rules are? What are the players told? What gets you suspended and what get you kicked off the team?

I assume felony arrest must be a get kicked off situation. First time DUI or fighting must be a suspension?

[DCWarEagle 0]

PM's take:

But there is more to do. Neither Chizik nor anyone else involved with Auburn football can view the dismissal of the players as the end of the problem. Five players in less than two weeks were charged with crimes. Smith’s was a misdemeanor, but it wasn’t his first run-in with the law.

Coaches can’t babysit players 24 hours a day, but the alleged crimes make it clear that the content of the character of the Auburn football players involved, if they are guilty, was lacking. Should that have been seen? Could it have been seen? I don’t know.

What does Chizik do now? What I believe he will do is take a hard look at his program and take whatever action is necessary to avoid another embarrassment like this one for Auburn football.

Obviously, the loss of five players who figured to be in the playing rotation takes a large bite out of Auburn’s depth for the 2011 season. Five young men who helped win a national championship won’t be there to get their rings, won't visit the White House, won’t be part of Auburn football ever again. But, really, that’s not even worth talking about today.

This is much bigger than winning or losing football games. If they are guilty, they brought it on themselves.

Drinking too much is a bad decision. Getting in a fight at a nightclub is a bad decision. Underage possession of alcohol is a bad decision. Smoking a joint is a bad decision.

Robbing somebody, at gunpoint or otherwise, is a character issue.

http://auburn.247sports.com/Article/Phillips-blog-A-sad-day--18043

A good take by Phillip Marshall (as usual). Immediately kicking the four off the team is about the sternest thing we can do after something like this happens, and (like I said in my first post) I applaud Chizik for that.

But as PM says, we also need to take a hard look at the program and see what can be done to prevent anything like this from happening again. People that woud do something like this (especially with a freakin' gun) are different from someone who just makes a judgement error. We don't need this type of kid anywhere near our program.

We just look awful to the general public these days and yes, that is something I care about. Our University's reputation has been stained in some ways that are fair and in some ways that are not, but we need to be as clean as possible to avoid further embarrassment.

[RunInRed 16,407]

Does anybody know what the AU football team rules are? What are the players told? What gets you suspended and what get you kicked off the team?

I assume felony arrest must be a get kicked off situation. First time DUI or fighting must be a suspension?

Smith's incident was a misdemeanor but of course, it wasn't his first brush up with the law.

[80Tiger 899]

There is no rehabilitation for people who would take a gun, break in someone's home, and rob them. Those guys are going to jail for a very long time and they deserve it. Hard to believe people with no more character than that were a part of our team. I am really disappointed in the players involved and in our coaching staff for bringing such thugs into our family.

Yep, because they asked each recruit if they ever thought of robbing anyone, and singled out the ones that said yes and offered them scholarships.

I understand what you are saying, but do you think this was any of these guys first time issue with something illegal? I mean, that is a pretty big first step if it is their first criminal activity. No petty theft,or anything like that, just straight to armed robbery and home invasion? Most law enforcement will tell you that criminals don't get caught on their first crime.

[quietfan 233]

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/03/11/four-auburn-players-arrested-on-multiple-robbery-charges/related

Four Auburn players arrested on multiple robbery charges

Suffice to say, the glow of winning the 2010 BCS title has officially worn off. And some media entities will now have additional ammunition to pound the sport on.

According to multiple media outlets, four Auburn players have been arrested and hit with multiple robbery charges. Junior defensive back Mike McNeil (pictured), freshman wide receiver Shaun Kitchens, freshman wide receiver Antonio Goodwin and freshman tight end Dakota Mosley were charged Friday with five counts of first-degree robbery. Each.

From the Auburn police department press release:

According to the five victims present, three black males entered the residence with one displaying a handgun. Personal property was stolen during the incident. No injuries were reported. A patrolman responding to the area observed what he believed to be the suspect vehicle based on a description he was given. Officers stopped the vehicle in the 1200 block of Wire Road and four suspects were taken into custody. A pistol and the stolen property was recovered at the scene. Goodwin, Kitchens,McNeil, and Mosley were transported to the Lee County Detention Center where each is currently being held on a $511,000 bond.

In what can only be described as a very swift reaction, especially in this day and age, all four players have already been permanently dismissed from the football program by head coach Gene Chizik.

“The players arrested in connection with this deeply troubling incident have been permanently dismissed from our football team,” Chizik said in a statement. ”While we realize the legal process will run its course and these young men have a right for their case to be heard, playing for Auburn University is an honor and a privilege. It is not a right.

“We hold our student-athletes to a high standard of conduct on and off the field as representatives of Auburn University, and this kind of behavior is not tolerated.

“I am extremely disappointed and embarrassed by the actions of these individuals. I want to personally apologize to all of those who were impacted by this senseless act, including the victims, Auburn University and the Auburn family.”

McNeil was a starter in 2010, while the other three were backups. Athletic director Jay Jacobs was 100-percent behind the steps taken by his head coach.

“This type of behavior will not be tolerated at Auburn. I fully support Coach Chizik’s swift and decisive action to dismiss these four student-athletes from our football team effective immediately.”

Five witnesses...the gun and the stolen property found in their car...I'd say they're toast.

But I am proud of Coach Chizik's and Jay Jacob's response!

Throw 'em off the team--that's a privilege not a right.

AS for their status as students at Auburn University--handle it exactly the same way Auburn's disciplinary policy prescribes for any AU student arrested for a violent felony pre-trial, whatever that is. I'm sure the University has legal guidelines and due process proceedures in place for handling such cases among the general student body.

[AU alum 2]

I'm going to play devils advocate.

What if they are found innocent of the charges?

I will be the first to throw the book at them if they are guilty, but what of they aren't?

If they aren't you do a lot of apologizing to them and eat a lot of crow. Mostly you admit you were the one in the wrong. But I don't think that will happen. I mean, they broke into a house with GUNS. They blew it.

[AU alum 2]

Not to mention, Chizik has already permanently dismissed them from the team. I highly doubt he does that if there was any chance this was a mistake.

Good for Chizik.

[AU alum 2]

PM's take:

But there is more to do. Neither Chizik nor anyone else involved with Auburn football can view the dismissal of the players as the end of the problem. Five players in less than two weeks were charged with crimes. Smith’s was a misdemeanor, but it wasn’t his first run-in with the law.

Coaches can’t babysit players 24 hours a day, but the alleged crimes make it clear that the content of the character of the Auburn football players involved, if they are guilty, was lacking. Should that have been seen? Could it have been seen? I don’t know.

What does Chizik do now? What I believe he will do is take a hard look at his program and take whatever action is necessary to avoid another embarrassment like this one for Auburn football.

Obviously, the loss of five players who figured to be in the playing rotation takes a large bite out of Auburn’s depth for the 2011 season. Five young men who helped win a national championship won’t be there to get their rings, won't visit the White House, won’t be part of Auburn football ever again. But, really, that’s not even worth talking about today.

This is much bigger than winning or losing football games. If they are guilty, they brought it on themselves.

Drinking too much is a bad decision. Getting in a fight at a nightclub is a bad decision. Underage possession of alcohol is a bad decision. Smoking a joint is a bad decision.

Robbing somebody, at gunpoint or otherwise, is a character issue.

http://auburn.247sports.com/Article/Phillips-blog-A-sad-day--18043

I do agree that 5 players in 2 years being arrested is 5 too many. Unfortunately, that is getting to be the norm EVERYWHERE. In no way is this a problem with Auburn's recruiting. Chizik is doing the right thing. Although I do agree that this is a character issue with the players, I don't think that in any way we could have foreseen this. Maybe with Eric Smith. But I guess they thought he was savable. Not these other guys though.

[AU alum 2]

CGC was exactly correct to dismiss them all from the team.

However the university needs to hold off on expelling them, of course they will flunk out if they cannot make bail.

Remember Duke and the Lacrosse team players. There was an alleged rape and Duke expelled the suspected students and fired their coach. That case resulted in Duke paying lots of money to those ex students

The cops pulled them over in the car that the victims described and found the stolen property and a handgun in the car with them. If it's not open and shut, it's about a millimeter shy of it.

Just saying AU needs to be careful. Duke was not. Unless they confess and plea bargain. This needs to go to trial and all the facts come out. i think their probably guilty too, but they need their day in court for the school to take additional action against them. As I said, it a moot point, they'll funk out or quit. They may not make bond for weeks and not being allowed to play football ever again probably causes them to leave campus on their own

Wouldn't break my heart.

[weagl1 1,784]

There is no rehabilitation for people who would take a gun, break in someone's home, and rob them. Those guys are going to jail for a very long time and they deserve it. Hard to believe people with no more character than that were a part of our team. I am really disappointed in the players involved and in our coaching staff for bringing such thugs into our family.

Idiot alert.

I sorry, but if you are around these guys every day you have to know by now which ones are thugs. Armed robbery is way over the line. This isn't getting drunk and making a fool out of yourself, getting in a fight or something else stupid like kids are prone to do because of lack of maturity. I don't recall ever having one of our players involved in such a thing and I go back into the 50's. For a whole group of them to be involved in this there is something very wrong with the oversight from the coaching staff who brought them in. No, the coaches can't watch them every minute, but they should be a better judge of character than that. Armed robbery is 20 years and using a firearm in the commission of a felony is 5 more mandatory. That is a very serious crime and don't think for a minute that the national news reporters are not going to make this into a story about how Auburn is out of control. Jim Tressel knocked us off the front page for a couple of days, but here we go again.

[mcgufcm 4,096]

I'm glad Chizik was able to make a stern statement at the beginning of the story, but c'mon, it's not like he had a choice. There are plenty of schools with discipline issues that dole out light punishments (*cough* Georgia *cough*). Even those schools would boot a guy for armed robbery. It's not like Chizik is taking a hard line here. Armed robbery is something that gets you kicked out. Period.

That said, I'll defend Gene and the staff on the notion that they should've seen it coming. Number one: they didn't have arrest records. Number two: who in their damn right mind expects a SENIOR (with no prior arrest record in four years at Auburn) on the verge of graduating and coming back for the chance to play in the NFL to ROB SOMEONE AT GUN POINT?!? It's not like Mike has been a problem child. He's been a model citizen. He even showed good character during his 18 month long rehab. This is unexpected. I'm not holding it against a Coach when a player does something horrible. That's like suing a gun manufacturer for selling a gun that was used in a crime.

It sucks. Of course it makes the team/school look bad. Of course people will say snarky remarks about us. They should. We should take steps to hold hands and preach character and reinforce responsibility to the men around you. After that, you just hope stuff like this doesn't happen. What an incredible waste for four talented young men with bright futures on and off the field. This hurts. And not just in a football sense.

[TitanTiger 20,479]

There is no rehabilitation for people who would take a gun, break in someone's home, and rob them. Those guys are going to jail for a very long time and they deserve it. Hard to believe people with no more character than that were a part of our team. I am really disappointed in the players involved and in our coaching staff for bringing such thugs into our family.

Idiot alert.

I sorry, but if you are around these guys every day you have to know by now which ones are thugs. Armed robbery is way over the line. This isn't getting drunk and making a fool out of yourself, getting in a fight or something else stupid like kids are prone to do because of lack of maturity. I don't recall ever having one of our players involved in such a thing and I go back into the 50's. For a whole group of them to be involved in this there is something very wrong with the oversight from the coaching staff who brought them in. No, the coaches can't watch them every minute, but they should be a better judge of character than that. Armed robbery is 20 years and using a firearm in the commission of a felony is 5 more mandatory. That is a very serious crime and don't think for a minute that the national news reporters are not going to make this into a story about how Auburn is out of control. Jim Tressel knocked us off the front page for a couple of days, but here we go again.

Unless they do a good job of hiding it. To my knowledge, none of these kids have been in any trouble before. Mike McNeil has been here four years without having any incidents that I can remember.

What the hell do you propose they do short of being mind readers? Dumbass.

[metafour 4,969]

The simple reality is that a lot of these kids come from rough situations and questionable upbringing; the coaches can go on and on about recruiting character or whatever but flat out no competitive program is recruiting ~25 upstanding citizens and future charity workers every year. Coaches do take chances on troubled kids and sometimes they work out and sometimes they dont. Antoine Carter had a rough upbringing and he grew into a pretty stand-up type guy with his opportunity to leave the ghetto. When we signed Kitchens and McNeal out of Banneker HS I remember being told that the coaching staff at Banneker wasn't focusing on getting kids recruited, they were focusing on keeping kids out of jail because the city is such a bad influence.

[IndianTiger 95]

Its tough to make up excuses for such actions, but we need to look at the root cause of the issue. Its not just at Auburn but in college football in general.

On the field they are all in uniform but off the field some can afford to drive expensive cars and afford fancy dinners while others are from very poor families and have barely enough to go out an eat sometimes.

Its time to address the elephant in the room and start paying a stipend (spending money). Its been an issue all along and still continues. Not that it will fix stupid acts but there is a real issue out there and its been ignored way too long.

Wielding a gun is no small matter, but maybe it stems from all the inequalities that exist. Just my 2 cents.

[cptau 169]

I would say legally with NCAA permission paying all the college players is a possibility to help stop some of this, but then I look at what goes on in the pro's. If we paid them there would be some that want more. This is a character problem. Shoplifting and using drugs and alcohol is not comparable to armed robbery. These guys if found guilty can only hope to receive jail time and get out soon on probation. Then they need to work their way back into society and do something of worth in life. Football

in college or the pro's is over for them.

[weagl1 1,784]

There is no rehabilitation for people who would take a gun, break in someone's home, and rob them. Those guys are going to jail for a very long time and they deserve it. Hard to believe people with no more character than that were a part of our team. I am really disappointed in the players involved and in our coaching staff for bringing such thugs into our family.

Idiot alert.

I sorry, but if you are around these guys every day you have to know by now which ones are thugs. Armed robbery is way over the line. This isn't getting drunk and making a fool out of yourself, getting in a fight or something else stupid like kids are prone to do because of lack of maturity. I don't recall ever having one of our players involved in such a thing and I go back into the 50's. For a whole group of them to be involved in this there is something very wrong with the oversight from the coaching staff who brought them in. No, the coaches can't watch them every minute, but they should be a better judge of character than that. Armed robbery is 20 years and using a firearm in the commission of a felony is 5 more mandatory. That is a very serious crime and don't think for a minute that the national news reporters are not going to make this into a story about how Auburn is out of control. Jim Tressel knocked us off the front page for a couple of days, but here we go again.

Unless they do a good job of hiding it. To my knowledge, none of these kids have been in any trouble before. Mike McNeil has been here four years without having any incidents that I can remember.

What the hell do you propose they do short of being mind readers? Dumbass.

Ditto back to you. The coaches are responsible for recruiting the players to the program and the oversight of them when they get to school. Smith kicking the guy in the NC game, then Fairley hitting their RB in the face after the play. Acting like thugs in their finest hour with the whole country watching. Smith in trouble again a month later and kicked off the team. Now 4 other players involved in an armed robbery. Is that the image we want for Auburn football? I would defend the Cam thing from now on because I honestly think that is much ado about nothing, but the other stuff is over the line and certainly not the way we want Auburn football to be viewed by the rest of the world. This is another huge blow to the image of the program that is going to be difficult to overcome in the wake of all the other garbage, some of which was deserved and some not. I know Gene Chizik is a good Christian man and a great coach, but it is about time for him to have a good "come to jesus" discussion with his staff and team. Bottom line, act like thug on the field you are going home. Act like a thug off the field and you are still going home. No exceptions.