For the second time publicly, former Tennessee running back Arian Foster said Thursday he accepted ’40 to 50 grand’ from boosters during his time (2004-08) with the Volunteers, revealing the information on Dan LeBatard’s radio show:
These quotes from the radio show were transcribed by the Knoxville News:
“You have people help you out here and there,” Foster said Thursday on the Dan LeBatard show. “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.”
LeBatard pushed Foster for an exact dollar figure. Foster guessed that it was “40, 50 grand throughout my entire career.”
Foster retracted his statements Friday on Twitter, but the damage was done:
Vol fans, it was a joke. I didn't get no where near 50k.
— Feeno (@ArianFoster) January 30, 2015
Anybody that went to college w me knows I ain't get no 50k lol
— Feeno (@ArianFoster) January 30, 2015
After Foster’s revelation reached the masses, the Houston Texans ballcarrier began interacting with social media followers, going even more in-depth about his time — and illegal profiting — in Knoxville.
Problem w college fans is they think it's "illegal" to recieve money for labor. It's not. And it happens everyday. Get over it.
— Feeno (@ArianFoster) January 30, 2015
Soon we'll live in a world where the employees are paid. ?
Imagine that.
— Feeno (@ArianFoster) January 30, 2015
“@CaptainHulk3: That's not a joke or funny! I'm sure Coach Fulmer appreciates it!”
Fulmer sittin in a million $ home cuz people like me.
— Feeno (@ArianFoster) January 30, 2015
In a 2013 Sports Illustrated documentary entitled “Schooled: The Price of College Sports,” Foster first claimed to receive thousands from Tennessee boosters and being ‘wined and dined’ as a player.
Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer released a statement at the time saying: “As the head coach at Tennessee for 17 years, I took great pride in having a program that was NCAA compliant, as did our staff and administration. If we knew of a violation, big or small, we reported it.”
