Arian Foster dropped a bomb against the University of Tennessee and college athletics as a whole during his appearance on the Dan Le Batard Show on Friday. The Houston Texans running back was asked to address his 2013 claims that he received cash from boosters while playing for Tennessee from 2004-2008.
Although people already knew about Foster’s previous statements that were shown in a documentary two years ago, most were shocked that he willingly gave a dollar amount. Prior to revealing the figure, he issued an explanation for accepting the cash (via Knoxville News-Sentinel):
You have people help you out here and there. Boosters and alumni and ex-players, they all know how it is, man. It’s hard living check to check when you don’t have enough money to go out to the movies or any kind of leisure activity. And you’re not allowed to get a job. Especially when I was in college, they were a lot more stringent on those rules, so at any given chance I got the opportunity, I took a free handout. Absolutely.
Then Le Batard asked about a specific amount and Foster made a few jaws drop:
40, 50 grand throughout my entire career.
Tennessee’s head coach during this period was Phillip Fullmer, who was fired just after the conclusion of Foster’s senior season in 2008. It might be difficult to trace back Foster’s claims to determine the accuracy of them and where the money may have come from but the dollar amount is sure to generate a little heat within the UT athletic department and NCAA.
