Auburn: Academic fraud investigation is about former player

In response to an investigative report from ESPN's Outside the Lines, Auburn said in a statement Wednesday the academic fraud probe involving its football program revolves around a former player.

Earlier, ESPN reported the student-athlete involved in the investigation played for the team in 2016, but later corrected the story to say the player was on the 2015 team. The report alleges an academic support staffer wrote a final exam for at least one member of the team.

Auburn's full statement reads as follows, via Josh Vitale of The Opelika-Auburn News:

The player for which we are conducting an investigation is not a member of the current team and was not a member of the team at the time of the allegation. He is a former player who came back to school to complete his degree. As you know from our statement he categorically denies the claim.

The allegation made in the ESPN story is false based on our review to date. The person making the accusation was a part-time employee placed on administrative leave in late August. She is making claims not supported by facts, and based on what ESPN told us this morning, before the story came out, she keeps changing her story. Neither she, her attorney, nor our investigation have produced anything to support her claims. Neither has ESPN.

It should also be noted that the accuser has signed 38 bi-monthly time sheets during her part-time employment stating that she has no knowledge or has not witnessed or assisted a student-athlete in participating in academic dishonesty. She has also signed compliance forms indicating no knowledge of wrongdoing.

We have no reason to think the allegation about the former student is true.