Dontavious Russell and Andrew Williams

[jenn4AU 24]

Her PTSD apparently did not prevent her from going to Columbus to be on the WRBL news to tell her story. She is, however, too scared to meet with the players who have offered to personally apologize to her. smh

[Eastwood 11]

http://www.denverpost.com/voices/ci_26002740/when-ptsd-benefits-are-abused

just sayin

[autigeremt 6,569]

There is a lot of hyperbole in her, her sister's and that organization's responses. I wouldn't be at all surprised if their version of the story is exaggerated. But something likely happened to provoke such an emotional response, and you'd hope that our players would generally be respectful towards people.

The players will be taught a lesson, but I can't imagine this is- or should be- a "fireable offense". If there is a broader culture problem within the football program, it will expose itself with other incidents (I do not consider the handful of minor infractions from the past 12 months to be representative of anything other than a normal group of 100-some-odd college dudes).

I'm upset any time our guys are disrespectful, but I'm not going to worry about the general state of our program over this.

I agree. I think this is overblown and the young lady is going way to far with this. Just an opinion of what I've seen and heard so far.

[plainsman04 0]

Just going to leave this right here.

http://instagram.com/p/zPv62Hrijz/

[IronMan70 3,277]

Crystal Stoddard @CLStod

"The first we hear out of you is a sorry attempt at a denial. You humiliated and bullied my sister to…" instagram.com/p/zPv62Hrijz/

clstod "Yes I am an Alabama Fan if you think that fuels my anger towards two players you are wrong."

Notice it's the Alabama fan sister that is doing all this. It is even to the point that she is sending Gus harassing tweets now. She and her agenda are beginning to get blowback.

[Randman5000 4,224]

Her PTSD apparently did not prevent her from going to Columbus to be on the WRBL news to tell her story. She is, however, too scared to meet with the players who have offered to personally apologize to her. smh

if that's the case this isn't going away today.

if she feels abused or if both parties overreacted then it's not going to take an apology like it should.

really hope the phone call by Gus would take care of this.

if she wants to keep bringing it up and make it her personal cause then let her turn it into that but not just against auburn. Let's hope no-one else bothers her on campus, student and fans in particular.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Doesn't she have the same right to go to school at Auburn like others have done in the past or are doing now? the answer is yes.

[EagleFlight34 101]

Doesn't she have the same right to go to school at Auburn like others have done in the past or are doing now? the answer is yes.

I'm pretty sure no one said she didn't have that right. I'm also pretty sure no onee said she did have the right to be an ass and expect to be given a pass. Story goes both ways, or so it should.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

Hopefully people on campus will stand up and support her.

[cole256 17,039]

If this happened exactly like the story says, I hope these kids never play a down for this team. Disgraceful. I don't care how good they are. This is much worse than a DUI or drug arrest or bar fight IMO. Unnaceptable. With that said, I sincerely hope that what actually happened is not what is being reported.

Smh. Dude get real

[alexava 6,973]

The jury is still out. Being a disabled veteran does not give a person a pass to be a jerk. I have had a couple of disabled veterans in my family and am a veteran myself, though I'm not disabled.

People unfamiliar with service dogs will naturally treat them like any other dog and try to talk "doggie" to them. If the owner responds with some uncalled for negative reaction, such a mess as this is what would be expected. It doesn't sound like the guys were kicking the dog or any such thing as that. On the contrary they were probably being friendly to it and the owner went ballistic. If she's got a legitimate mental problem this could well be a "no fault" incident.

Of course service dogs should be left alone. Most people do not understand that. "Please don't distract him, he's a service dog" is an appropriate response. Screaming at a person with kind intentions is not an appropriate response.

I'm a veteran myself, I earned my CIB less than two weeks into my deployment. Anybody that knows a person with PTSD would realize that overreactions are common. Definitely in crowded places. I have several buds that literally drink themselves to death but they will never admit they have mental problems. I highly doubt the players knew she was a veteran. More likely, they saw the PTSD outburst and thought she was being a dick.

FWIW her PTSD is not from combat it stems from a sexual assault while serving in the air force stateside (the reason for the PTSD was detailed in the AL.com article). Now with that said apparently the players were whistling and making kissing noises at the dog which is fairly common behavior to get a dogs attention but could trigger some bad memories for someone with PTSD from that kind of incident. Like has been said earlier I think she likely reacted harshly to something that was meant innocently and was not inappropriate under most circumstances and the players reacted in an inappropriate manner to her verbal attack like a lot of us would do even if it is not the right way to handle the situation.

Gus and the players having already apologized seems to be the most appropriate course of action if it goes further it will be due to ulterior motives on someone's part.

thank you

[autigeremt 6,569]

Gus Malzahn has reportedly issued an apology to an Air Force veteran and current Auburn student whose Facebook account of being verbally harassed by two Tigers players has gone viral.

Ashley Ozyurt, 25, spoke to television station WTVM on Tuesday night, identifying herself as the writer of the post on the "Service Dog Memes" Facebook page. Ozyurt uses her service dog, she told WTVM, to help her deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after a sexual assault during her time in the military. According to the Facebook post, two Auburn players whistled and made kissing noises at her service dog as they traveled to class, and when Ozyurt asked them to stop, they allegedly responded with verbal abuse and profanity.

"Auburn University condemns any behavior that is demeaning to those with disabilities," university communications official Mike Clardy said in a statement. "We're investigating the reports and will take all appropriate action once all the facts are known."

Ozyurt told WTVM she had received calls from both Malzahn and assistant athletic director of football David Gunn, each of whom apologized for the incident. Shari Duval, the president of the K9s for Warriors program that trained the service dog, told al.com on Ozyurt's behalf that the two players have "acknowledged their actions" (in al.com's words)and would also like to apologize.

Per the Facebook post, Ozyurt said she was a "crying mess" after the harassment and was forced to leave class and campus for the day.

Though the post listed the numbers from the players' football-issued backpacks, it did not identify them by name. Duval also declined to name the players involved.

[autigeremt 6,569]

Hopefully people on campus will stand up and support her.

She will be fine. Teachable moment and at the end of the day things will be better for it.

[WDE_OxPx_2010 5,287]

[alexava 6,973]

Gus Malzahn has reportedly issued an apology to an Air Force veteran and current Auburn student whose Facebook account of being verbally harassed by two Tigers players has gone viral.

Ashley Ozyurt, 25, spoke to television station WTVM on Tuesday night, identifying herself as the writer of the post on the "Service Dog Memes" Facebook page. Ozyurt uses her service dog, she told WTVM, to help her deal with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after a sexual assault during her time in the military. According to the Facebook post, two Auburn players whistled and made kissing noises at her service dog as they traveled to class, and when Ozyurt asked them to stop, they allegedly responded with verbal abuse and profanity.

"Auburn University condemns any behavior that is demeaning to those with disabilities," university communications official Mike Clardy said in a statement. "We're investigating the reports and will take all appropriate action once all the facts are known."

Ozyurt told WTVM she had received calls from both Malzahn and assistant athletic director of football David Gunn, each of whom apologized for the incident. Shari Duval, the president of the K9s for Warriors program that trained the service dog, told al.com on Ozyurt's behalf that the two players have "acknowledged their actions" (in al.com's words)and would also like to apologize.

Per the Facebook post, Ozyurt said she was a "crying mess" after the harassment and was forced to leave class and campus for the day.

Though the post listed the numbers from the players' football-issued backpacks, it did not identify them by name. Duval also declined to name the players involved.

I really hate what this person has gone through in the Air Force. I hope the public can look objectively and rationalize the fact that she is such an emotional wreck she needs a dog 24 hours a day to keep her grounded. then such incidents are likely to be blown way the hell up. without me knowing all the facts(or really any of them) i am starting to empathize more with the two players.

[gctiger 924]

I don't claim to know all of the facts, but I feel that if this girl is actively posting about this event on Facebook then she's guilty of fanning the flames and as such becomes a contributing party to this ordeal. The players probably didn't have prior knowledge of the girl's situation so I doubt she was targeted for her disability. It may be that it was a practical joke that unraveled and quickly got out of hand. Nonetheless, the players are representatives of the university and if they called her a bitch in public, then they should be punished accordingly but certainly not suspended or kicked off the team as some have suggested.

[auburntiger1987 759]

they need to be very careful or they might get to where the university will be forced to protect itself. Take the apology and move on. In the situation at hand she was never in a position to truly fear for her safety. This is for attention and attention only and it is despicable that they'd go to these lengths. If anyone tried to assault her, the dog or anything of the sort than i'd support her in this. However that is not the case and this is just B.S.

[Gibson SG 88]

From all of the reports and inside information I have received, I have no doubt that there was a confrontation. I also do not believe that the 2 football players harassed the woman. The players did whistle to get the dogs attention and the woman rudely told them, not asked them, to stop messing with the dog. Remember, the dog had no vest on. After the woman's rude remarks to the players, the players gave kind of a "whatever" type response and went on their way. No profanity was used. Because of the woman's PTSD, I believe the whistling set her off and not the remarks from the players. I have no doubt that she is sick, but I think she was the aggressor and in her mind, this was a lot bigger of a confrontation than it really was. The players had no way of knowing what would set her off and should not be punished. I feel for the woman and what she is going through. The sister, however, can take a hike.

[SCTiger2011 1,277]

Overreaction central. All veterans deserve our respect for their service, and I thank those who have served and are currently serving in my family as well as every other person to ever wear this country's uniform, but no person in any line of work, whether it be the clergy or a butcher, is above reproach. From the sounds of it, she wasn't 0 percent innocent for the incident just as the players weren't 100 percent responsible. Calling a female that derogatory term is never acceptable, and as for the incident, it would appear by reports our players were disrespectful and conducted themselves poorly in the presence of whoever it had been. I feel for this woman's condition, and thank her for her service, but to say after one such incident that she "no longer feels safe" at Auburn University is irresponsible hyperbole.

[Ed_ 3]

This may come off as insensitive but if she is still at a point where people whistling and making kissing noises at her dog makes her go off she may need to do some additional therapy before dealing with attending university. I'm not downplaying the severity of what happened to her with the sexual assault in any way but if you are not emotionally stable enough to handle situations that are somewhat likely to occur you may need to take more time before subjecting yourself to those situations.

With that said I hope she is able to eventually recover fully from her attack.

[Ed_ 3]

From all of the reports and inside information I have received, I have no doubt that there was a confrontation. I also do not believe that the 2 football players harassed the woman. The players did whistle to get the dogs attention and the woman rudely told them, not asked them, to stop messing with the dog. Remember, the dog had no vest on. After the woman's rude remarks to the players, the players gave kind of a "whatever" type response and went on their way. No profanity was used. Because of the woman's PTSD, I believe the whistling set her off and not the remarks from the players. I have no doubt that she is sick, but I think she was the aggressor and in her mind, this was a lot bigger of a confrontation than it really was. The players had no way of knowing what would set her off and should not be punished. I feel for the woman and what she is going through. The sister, however, can take a hike.

From what I heard from someone that overheard the confrontation most of that is correct except for how you described the reaction of the players. The did cuss at her and call her a bitch (well they could have been talking to the dog but I doubt that). That is not an appropriate response but it not something that warrants them being vilified. If they had said this to a woman who didn't have PTSD we would never have heard about it. This is just a perfect storm of bad luck and bad choices for everyone involved.

[autigeremt 6,569]

From all of the reports and inside information I have received, I have no doubt that there was a confrontation. I also do not believe that the 2 football players harassed the woman. The players did whistle to get the dogs attention and the woman rudely told them, not asked them, to stop messing with the dog. Remember, the dog had no vest on. After the woman's rude remarks to the players, the players gave kind of a "whatever" type response and went on their way. No profanity was used. Because of the woman's PTSD, I believe the whistling set her off and not the remarks from the players. I have no doubt that she is sick, but I think she was the aggressor and in her mind, this was a lot bigger of a confrontation than it really was. The players had no way of knowing what would set her off and should not be punished. I feel for the woman and what she is going through. The sister, however, can take a hike.

From what I heard from someone that overheard the confrontation most of that is correct except for how you described the reaction of the players. The did cuss at her and call her a bitch (well they could have been talking to the dog but I doubt that). That is not an appropriate response but it not something that warrants them being vilified. If they had said this to a woman who didn't have PTSD we would never have heard about it. This is just a perfect storm of bad luck and bad choices for everyone involved.

If she had heard this from any other student we wouldn't have heard of it.

[Ed_ 3]

From all of the reports and inside information I have received, I have no doubt that there was a confrontation. I also do not believe that the 2 football players harassed the woman. The players did whistle to get the dogs attention and the woman rudely told them, not asked them, to stop messing with the dog. Remember, the dog had no vest on. After the woman's rude remarks to the players, the players gave kind of a "whatever" type response and went on their way. No profanity was used. Because of the woman's PTSD, I believe the whistling set her off and not the remarks from the players. I have no doubt that she is sick, but I think she was the aggressor and in her mind, this was a lot bigger of a confrontation than it really was. The players had no way of knowing what would set her off and should not be punished. I feel for the woman and what she is going through. The sister, however, can take a hike.

From what I heard from someone that overheard the confrontation most of that is correct except for how you described the reaction of the players. The did cuss at her and call her a bitch (well they could have been talking to the dog but I doubt that). That is not an appropriate response but it not something that warrants them being vilified. If they had said this to a woman who didn't have PTSD we would never have heard about it. This is just a perfect storm of bad luck and bad choices for everyone involved.

If she had heard this from any other student we wouldn't have heard of it.

Unfortunately this is also true...

[plainsman04 0]

http://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/2wbwot/about_auburn_players_harassing_disabled_vet/

[TitanTiger 20,471]

http://www.reddit.co...g_disabled_vet/

So it appears we have a couple of different accounts.