Were Gamecocks Cheating?

Former South Carolina offensive lineman Anton Gunn said Friday that while he was with the Gamecocks, players copied homework from tutors and looked at sample tests.

“I won’t say it was expressly a push from anybody’s football staff,” Gunn told The Associated Press by phone from Washington. “It’s really a bigger problem with all of college football.”

Gunn’s comments first showed up in The Wall Street Journal.

Harold White, who heads the university’s academic support program, said Gunn’s charges were false.

“I think Anton’s distorted his recollections of his time at the university,” White said.

Gunn wouldn’t point fingers at his two football coaches at South Carolina, Sparky Woods from 1991-93 and Brad Scott in 1994. And he said Athletic Director Mike McGee, who came aboard in 1993, has worked hard to improve academics among athletes.

“I knew this was just something that had to be said,” Gunn said. “It’s a widespread problem that happens all over the place, not just at South Carolina.”