Ex-Auburn football players claim payoffs

DETROIT, March 30 (UPI) -- Four former Auburn University football players claim they received cash and other favors from various schools' sports boosters.

They make the accusations on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel," which is to air Wednesday on HBO. The Sports by Brooks Web site obtained an advance copy, The Detroit News reported Wednesday.

One of the players, Stanley McClover, said he received cash in handshakes from boosters at Michigan State and Louisiana State, sexual favors at Ohio State and a book bag stuffed with cash at Auburn.

"Our compliance office was never alerted to this alleged handshake," Michigan State's associate athletic director, John Lewandowski, said Wednesday.

McClover, a defensive lineman who played three seasons in the NFL, said he switched from Ohio State to Auburn after asking for money and getting it in the bag.

"I literally almost passed out, I couldn't believe it was true," he said. "I felt like I owed them."

But other players question McClover's account, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported. Junior Rosegreen called him "a storyteller" and "a damn liar."