Thursday, August 9, 2012

Red Meat: NCAA is in Memphis, investigating an Auburn player’s eligibility

http://lh5.ggpht.com/-Oxyqmbwpcsc/T3xyipO-V_I/AAAAAAAADMQ/h9NpgqxmnWk/s1600/image%25255B3%25255D.pngThis was in SEC Football Rumor Central earlier, but enough information has come out to warrant a front page blog post.

Various sources confirm that the NCAA has been or is looking into the eligibility of Javon Robinson, a member of Auburn’s 2012 signee class who was a consensus four star recruit from Wooddale High in… wait for it… Memphis.

Roy Adams, aka “Tennstud,” who was a central figure in the Alabama recruiting scandal surrounding Memphis product Albert Means, has again been making noise about improper recruiting. Although this time, his rumblings point to Auburn.

Two separate issues have been raised.

The first deals with Robinson’s acquisition of a new vehicle. That one can likely be dismissed out of hand—no major school is going to be caught dealing new vehicles to players or recruits because stuff like that is just too easily documented and just too easily uncovered.

Auburn’s not that stupid and neither is the school’s booster community.

In fact, the “car story” was dismissed weeks ago.

The second issue could be more problematic. According to multiple independent sources with knowledge of the NCAA’s inquiry, Robinson’s initial academic eligibility may be in question. Discrepancies in transcripts for high school work have been noted, with Adams and others suggesting that grades were changed in order for Robinson to pass muster with the NCAA Clearinghouse.

Compliance experts indicate that issues of academic eligibility and suggestions of potential academic fraud obtain much more scrutiny from the governing body because they go to the heart of the NCAA’s meme of the “student athlete.”

Witness the toxic waste dump fire in North Carolina.

You can synopsize Auburn message boards with the following generic post: “Alabama is cheating; we are clean.”

You can synopsize Alabama message boards with the following generic post: “Auburn is cheating, we are clean.”

That stuff goes on from January to September and from September through December.

Long time readers of this blog know that we don’t deal in rumors. However, when multiple sources are independently corroborating each other’s information, it’s worth putting out there.

Another part of today’s Rumor Central entry addressed rumblings of improper activities in South Florida. We’re unable to confirm anything regarding those waves, so we’ll leave that where it is.

For now.

The NCAA does not publicly comment on any ongoing investigations.

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