Auburn football: The ‘real reason’ for February inquiry into program
At 3-3, with a 9-10 overall record as head coach, Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin is simultaneously under fire and under a safety umbrella as someone unlikely to lose his job until Auburn University names a new athletic director.
Until that TBD AD walks through the door, Harsin is a lucky man. He could be even luckier than most realize though, given the results of this past February’s infamous inquiry into the Auburn football program.
While teams have used the inquiry against the Tigers on the recruiting trail, the ugliest part of it — and arguably the impetus for why there was such an investigation being conducted in the first place — was largely omitted.
According to Auburn-Opelika News deputy news editor Justin Lee, who was in the middle of a lengthy rant about why Harsin is the luckiest coach in college football, that would be investigation into the possible mistreatment of Black players:
And for whatever reason, the university omitted the real reason for the inquiry into the program — the investigation into the possible mistreatment of Black football players — and allowed him to make a statement suggesting it was about the affair rumors.
— Justin Lee (@ByJustinLee) October 9, 2022
So no. He's lucky.
The accusations against Auburn football head coach Bryan Harsin
When it comes to mistreatment of black players, departed former Tigers like Lee Hunter and Kobe Hudson certainly made it sound like there was a real problem. “The reason I chose to leave Auburn (was) because we got treated like we wasn’t good enough and like dogs,” said Hunter. “Coach Harsin has the true mindset for a winner but has a terrible mindset as a person.”
Bennett Durando, formerly of the Montgomery Advertiser, heard this from a source in a February 4 piece about the inquiry:
"“Harsin made efforts to relate to players like the ones he had at Boise State – often from a working-class white demographic – but did not always make the same effort to connect with others – often Black players from urban areas in the South. However, the source said they never heard Harsin use racist remarks or language.”"
Several Black players came to Harsin’s defense following, and the lack of any substantial evidence of racist rhetoric from the Boise native certainly helps his case. Still, Justin Lee throwing this out there breathes life back into the issue.