I tell myself I'm pulling off the highway on a whim. Auburn University Athletic Director Jay Jacobs announced in late September that the school had hired a new women's softball coach. So from Deans perspective, the struggles are created from a lack of aggressiveness. The letter also referenced the school's conflict of interest policy in demanding that Clint Myers not use the services of his son's graphic design company, GraphX LLC, in which the head coach had an ownership interest. The player next to the open seat was senior third baseman Kasey Cooper, the most lauded and accomplished of the Tigers, espnW's 2016 Player of the Year. When I traveled with the Auburn softball team, Clint Myers was on the verge of achieving an ambition that was nothing less than dynastic. You have a responsibility to these young women. Who is in the wrong here? 17 Auburn softball (40-15) came out on top, 4-3, in a back-and-forth affair to defeat Louisiana (45-12) Friday. Messages left with Clint Myers were not immediately returned Friday, and Corey Myers declined to comment when reached by Outside the Lines. I would love to raise money, I would love to holler at umpires from the stands, I would love to support these guys in every way and say, 'Those are my boys! And she'll hang on every word because that 8-year-old wants to be me. Clint Myers was hired under ASU's Love and departed under her successor, Steve Patterson, and both Love and Patterson told Outside the Lines that no one from Auburn contacted them to discuss Myers or his son ahead of hiring him. Though only 65, he could have passed for 80, with a raw, pained pinkish face, eyes dark with watchfulness, a parroty mouth given to grimace and white hair dented by a lifetime of ball caps. She is telling her story in the Mexican restaurant because she wants people to know what happened to her at Auburn. He wore black spectacles and white support socks, and though sealed in what seemed a permanent layering of coaching gear -- the billowing nylon pullover in Auburn orange, the polyester shorts in Auburn blue -- he bore an unmistakable resemblance to the Letterman sidekick Larry "Bud" Melman, with the same gnomic peculiarity. In the first game at Florida, the Tigers took a lead into the seventh and then lost on two unearned runs after a dropped fly ball; in the second game, they sagged and surrendered as soon as Florida pitcher Kelly Barnhill released her first 70 mph rise ball with her signature scream. Auburn officials and Clint Myers have been aware of the allegations for months. I didn't understand until three days later, when Corey Myers resigned because, as he explained in a statement, "it became clear to me that my relationship with my family needs to be my top priority right now.". "I wrote a letter saying that I didn't believe all that was being said, because I wanted to defend my coach," one former Auburn player told ESPN. A little over a year ago, I gave a speech to the Auburn Tigers softball team. If thats the case, its time for Auburn to start swinging the bat. My softball story was to be about joy, and yet the team as a whole exuded an atmosphere of toil and trouble, especially when it started losing. She suffered playing softball but keeps coming back to softball, coaching a team of 8-year-olds. It was what made the family of girls like the real thing: They were cranky and sometimes unfriendly, they were exclusive rather than inclusive, and they adhered to rigorous protocols that set them apart, whether eating or boarding the bus. It was the last tranquil moment Corey would have as the associate head coach of the Auburn Tigers, because even as the players took swings in the cages, something was happening outside on the field. She's telling me now because she's learned that it's her story to tell, and she's hoping that I'll learn something from it about Auburn, about Meredith Jenkins, about Clint Myers and about herself and her friend -- that they were not and are not to blame. They're afraid of sounding like egomaniacs. So I can't say exactly what we've talked about. But neither do I think that she is wrong about joy being "the secret within the game." In the back of the room, tilting on an office chair, turned toward his father, is Casey Myers, bearded and bearish, quiet and considerate, the family brain who's been called upon to render service as the family counsel. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Troubled Auburn Football Program Returning Harsin Despite Controversy There are some gaudy numbers that accompany the historic offensive slump that Auburn softball finds itself in entering the SEC Tournament. When I ask her what she believes hurt her counterpart more, the abuse she suffered at the hands of Corey Myers or the team's decision to ostracize her, the answer comes quickly: "The team ostracizing her, for sure. It was our fault if the story got out, it was our fault that Corey had to leave. And that's the secret within the game. A program where you are only looked at from an athletic perspective, not a personal perspective. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. As an outfielder, Garcia recorded 115 putouts in her four-year career and fielded at a .939 clip. GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Opening the 2022 Southeastern Conference Tournament with a pitchers' duel, sophomore Maddie Penta pitched a gem behind 11 strikeouts, but No. In the last 11 SEC games, Auburn is 1-10 overall. Corey Myers could not be reached for comment. Auburn Softball will play their home opener on Friday at 3 p.m. CT against Austin Peay as part of the Tiger Invitational at Jane B. Moore Field. The review is ongoing. Corey made a tearful apology to the team and took a leave of absence. And then one day Corey was back. LSU Baseball: Jay Johnson weighs in on ejection controversy vs. Auburn Thats what happens when you play for a program where when you fail, you are immediately benched. His father had chosen him as his successor; Corey was, after all, a father and a husband himself and now worked as associate head coach. Maddie Penta included in D1Softball's D100 player rankings. Softball - Auburn University Athletics In the last 11 SEC games, Auburn is hitting just .144. They put their season at risk to do something about him, which means that they put themselves -- or at least what was left of their softball careers -- at risk. Elliot's Blog; Podcast; Featured Promotions; On-Air. I take the elevator upstairs. Former Auburn softball player expresses frustrations with softball program on social media Auburn softball player Carlee McCondichie (12) in the outfield during game against the UAB Blazers in Jane B. Moore Field on February 22, 2023. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. He was still feared and fearsome on the field and so exacting that a big yellow stopwatch hung from his neck like an article of religious devotion. 6 rank after U.S. Open win, Griner dunks for first time since '21: 'It felt good', Corpuz wins first U.S. Women's Open at Pebble, Ranked: The 25 best players at the 2023 Women's World Cup, From Marta to Matlou: Starting XI of Women's World Cup swan songs, GM Kate Markgraf is laying the groundwork for the USWNT to win the World Cup, Women's World Cup notable absentees: From Sauerbrunn to Mead, Meet all 23 USWNT players going to the World Cup: Fun facts, insightful stats and more, Pound-for-pound rankings: New No. She cracked a line drive off the knee of Auburn starter Kaylee Carlson, whom I had seen before the game staring aghast at the screen of a phone with her hand over her mouth. "How disrespectful was that to his student athletes on the team? What's really sick, she says, "was that it was happening to both of us at the same time, but we didn't know about it until we started talking. 1s in both men's and women's top 10s, How Mia Hamm ended up playing as goalkeeper at a World Cup: 'Somebody dialed up the wack', Women's World Cup 2023: All you need to know, Auburn AD: Softball issues handled discreetly, Auburn president confirms softball investigation, Ex-Auburn softball player alleges staff abuse. They never asked me about my work; they asked me about my family, and one afternoon, when I was sitting by myself at one of the round tables in the hotel conference room that had been reserved for the use of the players, Kasey Cooper walked up and said to me, with her characteristic absence of preamble, "Don't you miss your wife and your daughter?" She suffered at Auburn but keeps coming back to Auburn. Auburn in NCAA Softball Tournament Clemson Regional: TV, ticket info You've heard -- of course you've heard -- that there is no crying in baseball? Oksana Masters, as told to Charlotte Gibson, Molly Seidel, as told to Charlotte Gibson, How Mia Hamm ended up playing as goalkeeper at a World Cup: 'Somebody dialed up the wack', Before the USWNT's influx of soccer moms, there was Joan Dunlap, who paved the way, Jedrzejczyk says Zhang rematch off table for now, Paralympian and gold medalist Oksana Masters brings hope to Ukraine, Olympic marathoner Molly Seidel found a way to run again, Olympic rowing gold medalist's mom helped develop the COVID-19 vaccines, Greatness beckoned me back to the stands; fate took it from there, 'She wore hearing aids': How a Zoom call with Tamika Catchings affirmed everything, Mental Health Awareness month 2020: Highlighting experiences, voices in sport, Auburn was down to a sophomore pinch-hitter named Courtney Shea, Arizona State wouldn't let him work with Corey, made anonymous complaints to the athletic department, filed a Title IX sexual discrimination complaint. Interactions the ASU staffers said they had witnessed had been cordial and not concerning. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement (updated 4/4/2023), Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 7/1/2023). A program where you arent pursued. I don't even have to think about where I'm going; I drive as if in a dream or propelled by a memory. He likes to be a step ahead when he talks to you on the phone. Just that morning, he told most of his freshmen that they couldn't board the bus and had to stay behind in Auburn, and one of them had cried in his office for half an hour. I am so SICK AND TIRED of you people belittling athletes especially MY CARLEE when you have - https://t.co/ptiZfb5h9q. It's unclear how much Auburn officials knew about the alleged issues at Arizona State before hiring Clint Myers in 2013. Auburn's only other base runners reached on a walk and Clemson error in the early frames. A former Auburn softball player sent a 14-page complaint alleging abusive treatment by the Tigers coaching staff, a pattern of sexual harassment and concerns about administrative cover-up to school officials and Alabama Gov. But families are strange and volatile and deeply imperfect organizations, rife with secrets and cruelties and the potential for abuse, and the story of Corey Myers at Auburn proves that the man he calls Coach did not fail in what he set out to do when he set out to build a family at Auburn. '", Fagan said she had been troubled by Corey Myers' behavior since her first year on the team, when, after a ground ball fielding drill, "he smacked me on the butt. "I thought it was about softball," he says. "We followed a very narrow path and didn't stray very far from it, and all of a sudden this very nontraditional thing happened in my life." Players say she ordered them to the team room for a meeting, and they stayed there for three hours, confused about whether they were being protected or punished. "I was so upset," she says, not because of what she remembered but rather what she forgot. They called him Coach, and Corey's children called him Grandpa Coach. He wished her well. She began seeing Corey's car parked next to the car of another player, the player who had always been quiet, enigmatic, set apart. The last time Auburn scored fewer runs over an 11-game stretch came when they scored 12 runs over the final nine games of the 2009 season a year when AU went 27-29 overall. Auburn Tries to Move on With Hire of New Coach, But Controversy Simmers "You thought that the person who has helped me more than anyone else, who has advocated for me more than anyone else, which is Meredith Jenkins, tried to hurt me. One former player, when asked if any of the coaches ever commented on her looks, said, "That's how it was determined if you were liked or not. It was an act that set the stage for all that was to follow: an emotionally charged postgame confrontation between Fagan and Florida coach Tim Walton, who unwittingly stepped into the Auburn storm; the three-hour March 30 "quarantine" described in Greenberg's letter; the resignation of Corey Myers; and, perhaps most remarkably, the refusal of several members of the team, including Fagan and 2016 All-American Kasey Cooper, to board the bus to Athens in the company of the player who allegedly exchanged text messages with Corey Myers. "The year we were in the World Series, we were the Cinderella story," she says. ", In an email to Outside the Lines, former Arizona State athletic director Love wrote, "Active administrative oversight throughout his tenure may have contributed to [Clint Myers'] decision to be employed elsewhere.". "I think it's personal, Tom. 10 seed Auburn against No. Grant tops Corpuz by 3 strokes for first LPGA win, Annie Park leads Dana Open; Corpuz tied for 2nd, Mystics, a 'bit snakebit,' see Atkins (ankle) exit, Tennessee-Indiana headlines Fort Myers Tip-Off, Corpuz rockets to No. Two days after Corey resigned, I took my family to watch Auburn play Georgia in a road series and introduced my teenage daughter to Coach. ", "If we sit and talk, you'll have a better idea of what I'm writing. What his rules would be moving forward," she said. But of course the question of whether I liked him or not was beside the point. Like most families, they also had a member who was as set apart from them as they were set apart from everyone else. On the play that produced the winning run, Carosone was called out because she ran outside the basepath. She made the play, calmly picking the ball from the grass and throwing to first before limping off the field with the win. "I believe that they should be treated like ladies, like their opinion matters, like they're important. We are missing those opportunities.. But she's learned to accept it not just as a designation but as an expression of her own experience. Former Auburn Tigers softball player alleges abuse, sexual - ESPN They played for the Myerses because the Myerses were not only all about family, they were a family -- "they're all blood relatives and they all live next to one another," one of the players told me as a measure of her approval. "It's very dangerous when you have no checks and balances. I intentionally forgot a lot about it and that's trauma." You're part of the family now.". 2 seed or a No. None of those assistant coaches are going to speak up because they're all hired by the head coach, and family comes first. I didn't understand. All were invited; all were welcome; and when the bus finally stopped rolling and the team went to its first practice at the University of Florida's softball field, I stood on the outside of a meeting the coaches had with their players, and Coach motioned me in. He had won two national championships at Arizona State, in 2008 and 2011, and had made Auburn a title contender within two years of his arrival in 2013. They didn't have "reputations." He retired Wednesday, saying in a university-issued statement that "after 40 years of coaching and reflecting on the importance of spending quality time with my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, I have decided to retire from a sport that I love dearly and which has brought so much joy to me.". Auburn Softball Team Controversy Jeff Gordon Gets Robbed.Join us @2real4mainstream12 , as we talk about the turmoil surrounding the Auburn softball team pert. "He couldn't be in any area the public wasn't allowed in. It was all about power, and all verbal and emotional. But none of that has happened yet, and until he answers, the world is suspended as it was. Auburn University Athletics He's insensitive, blind and oblivious to Corey. They have 40 hits in those 11 games just 3.6 hits per game. "The V-word," she calls it. "No," she said flatly, before explaining that the seat was spoken for. The next year, he plays third base in South Bend, Indiana. and I said, 'Don't do that.'". Auburn officials declined to answer specific questions from ESPN about the allegations and team culture, but issued the following statement: "As information became known to us, the university acted upon it, following guidelines and/or procedures, to learn the facts and take appropriate action. Data analyst and reporter for ESPN's Enterprise and Investigative Unit. They were passing phones back and forth and clapping their hands over their mouths in shock or bursting into angry and heartbroken tears when they saw what was on the screen. Auburn coach Clint Myers asked after I sat down next to him in the front of the bus. In the last 11 SEC games, Auburn has hit 3 home runs. I had not a clue; I ascribed what I was witnessing to the incendiary power of gossip in close quarters. Outgoing Auburn Tigers softball player Carlee McCondichie elected not to use her fifth year of NCAA eligibility and eviscerated the program's brass in since-deleted social media posts. Is great better than good? He didn't know and couldn't have known. Also at the time, according to an NCAA report, Arizona State had the highest number of major infraction cases of any other institution. Now, in the Mexican restaurant, the player from 2016 wants to say she empathizes with what happened to that enigmatic player in 2017 because it happened to her. Former shortstop Haley Fagan said several members of the team filed anonymous ethics complaints with the athletic department in September 2016, prompting the university to conduct an internal investigation that led to Corey Myers' resignation after a tearful team meeting. Here's everything you need to know: 2023 NCAA Softball Tournament Clemson Regional: What time do the Auburn Tigers play next? AU will open up in Texas at the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. I didn't understand when, even as her teammates climbed onto the bus, the player I'd identified either as an enigma or an outcast remained far apart from them, furiously using her phone. He tried to move on. And that's when I knew that he had made a choice and that when he was talking about his family, he wasn't talking about the girls.
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