Auburn in hot water with two lawsuits

How lame is Auburn? Take Clemson, remove the lake, and put it in an even more remote location. Then add fans who like to toilet-paper the campus after a win (classy!). Obviously, our schadenfreude meter was red-lining this morning after being apprised of not one, but two nasty lawsuits that are coming at the school.

Football players gone wild
According to Decari Jenkins, a student at Auburn, he was beaten up by three Tiger football players, suffering permanent scarring and a concussion. The suit has been filed in U.S. District Court, naming running back Eric Smith and two other as yet unnamed players. Believe it or not, drinking was involved.

Smith, with the aid of teammates, “began to pummel Plaintfiff Jenkins with hands and fists about his face and body,” the lawsuit claims. “Though Plaintfiff attempted to defend himself, he was knocked to the floor where Defendant Smith and his cohorts continued to punch and kick him.”

Jenkins says he escaped and fled down the outside stairway to the front of the hotel. While outside, Jenkins claims, Smith ran toward him and punched him in the back of his head with four Auburn city police officers standing nearby.

“Defendant Smith then kicked the Plaintiff, turned away from the officers, and casually walked away as if nothing had happened, leaving Jenkins unconscious in a pool of blood,” the lawsuit states.

Racism on the Plains
A group of black university employees at Auburn are suing because they contend they’re being paid less that white employees for doing the same work. The workers have filed papers with the appropriate places, and lo — politicians are getting involved. Controversy, ahoy!

Mike Clardy, director of university communications, said the university is working with the employees to resolve the issue.

But the University’s response has been too slow, according to Auburn City Council Member Arthur L. Dowdell, who said he plans a press conference early next week to highlight the issue.

Dowdell said the group of about eight black employees who do custodial work filed complaints with the university and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission office in Birmingham in early October.