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Auburn Football: Statement Released in Veteran, Service Dog Incident

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Late Monday, Auburn University released a statement through its Facebook page that addressed an on-campus incident last week between a veteran, her service dog and two Auburn football players.

The veteran, Ashley Ozyurt, reported that she was harassed by redshirt freshmen defensive linemen Andrew Williams and Dontavius Russell after the players tried to get the attention of her service dog and Ozyurt told them to stop.

It was an embarrassing report for the players and the Auburn football program as a whole, and head coach Gus Malzahn apologized shortly afterwards.

As news of the incident spread, different accounts came to light, including one from a user on Reddit claiming to be an eye witness. The post says the players did not appear to intentionally harass Ozyurt and the official statement from the University comes to a similar conclusion.

Here is the full statement from Auburn University:

"“On Tuesday, February 17th Auburn Athletics was made aware of an incident in the lobby area of Haley Center involving two student-athletes and an interaction with a fellow student and her service dog.Based on conversations with the students, it’s our belief that neither of the student-athletes, Andrew Williams nor Dontavius Russell, did anything with disrespectful intent. From a distance, Andrew made noises trying to get the dog’s attention. He didn’t understand the purpose of the dog or realize that the student was a disabled veteran. Dontavius had no involvement in the interaction whatsoever as he was only walking to class.Andrew offers the following message to the female student. “I want to take this opportunity to apologize for raising my voice. I was startled and totally misunderstood the situation. My mother and father who raised me both served in the military. I have tremendous respect for veterans. In the past week, I’ve learned a lot more about the role of service dogs for veterans and now better understand her courage to attend Auburn.”The matter is under review by the university’s Office of Affirmative Action/Equal Employment Opportunity. We have and will continue to cooperate, and we understand the review must be allowed to follow its normal course.Auburn has a long history of supporting the men and women who have served our country. We look forward to adding new programs and educational offerings that raise awareness about service dogs and the challenges that often impact those who serve. Both of the student-athletes affected by the incident were raised by military families and value all that Auburn does in support of the many military appreciation related activities.”"

While it’s good to know that the players in question did not intentionally harass anyone and that Williams specifically has apologized, this isn’t a victory of any kind. Instead, it’s a lesson for others.

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Auburn football players – and college football players and student athletes across the country for that matter – are held to a higher standard than the rest of the school’s population.

Because of their high-profile nature and the fact they are usually easily identifiable because of the gear they wear (often with their uniform numbers displayed on sweats, book bags, and other equipment), athletes must be extremely careful how they conduct themselves at all times.

Whether walking to class, in a classroom or simply hanging out on campus, people are watching. And, in the age of ever-present social media, it takes only seconds for the news of a slip up to make it to the masses. At that point, embarrassment is certain and a completely damaged reputation is very possible.

According to the statement, the incident is still under review. While it currently appears that the players are unlikely to receive any punishment, they’ve surely learned a lesson and served as an example to others at Auburn and across the country.

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