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Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn apologized to a female veteran this week for the actions of two unnamed players, who reportedly harassed the woman on campus.
According to an AL.com report, 25-year-old Ashley Ozyurt was walking to class with her service dog on Tuesday morning when the two players "started verbally accosting her, mocking her, hissing [and] making kissing sounds [at the dog]," Shari Duval, president of K9s for Warriors, said. When asked to stop, the players reportedly responded with profanity.
Duval said the players have admitted to their role in the incident, and multiple people on Auburn's staff reached out to Ozyurt to apologize. Ozyurt says Malzahn and assistant athletic director of football David Gunn both called her on Tuesday.
"Auburn University condemns any behavior that is demeaning to those with disabilities," Mike Clardy, Auburn's director of university communications, said in statement to AL.com. "We're investigating the reports and will take all appropriate action once all the facts are known."
According to WTVM, Ozyurt suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after being sexually assaulted while in the Air Force.
She gave a first-hand account of her story, which was posted on Facebook by Service Dog Memes. Here is what Ozyurt wrote:
"At 10:30am today I walked into the Halley Center on my way to class. As I was walking I heard people behind me whistling and making kissing noises at my service dog. I ignored it like I usually do for about 10 feet and they didn't not stop. I turned around and said to two Auburn University football players "Please don't distract my service dog." Player number [omitted] moved towards me and proceeded to yell, "What do you want? HUH? Whats wrong with you, nobody's bothering YOU. What are you gonna do? HUH?" I opened my mouth but no words could escape. My hyperventilating only seemed to fuel their verbal assault. When I didn't speak, my service dog began to drag me away from the situation, one of them yelled, "THAT'S WHAT I THOUGHT [expletive]!
"At that point, in front of dozens of people, my PTSD took over and I withered to a crying mess. I went to the nearest safe place, the Office of Accessibility and reported the student's football numbers that they were wearing their FB sweat suits and backpacks. [omitted], the main attacker, and his hype man [omitted]. I attempted to attend my first class, but after 30 minutes of crying and humiliating myself further, I knew I needed to get home.
"I have never had a negative experience like this, ever! Especially on Auburn's campus where I have been accepted and treated like family until now. In fact, I have commented many times Auburn on how the campus is a safe place for everyone. It is no longer a safe place for me. I am hurt, angered, and very humiliated. I expected more from my university's athletes."
Teddy Mitrosilis is an editor and writer for FOXSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TMitrosilis and email him at tmitrosilis@gmail.com.
