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Bama News
The University of Alabama athletics department has seen better days.
In the last few months alone, Alabama has been scrutinized for a number of scandals involving players, coaches and athletic department employees.
Most recently, Crimson Tide baseball coach Brad Bohannon was fired in the midst of a possible betting scandal involving his program. Bohannon is also one of three employees being sued for alleged mistreatment by a former Alabama player.
Throw in the recent arrest of Matthew Self, Alabama's Deputy Director of Athletics, Compliance and Support Services, for alleged domestic violence and the murder scandal involving former Tide men's basketball player Darius Miles and it's been a tough run for the school and its athletic director Greg Byrne.
Not surprisingly, Byrne has become the subject of intense social media scrutiny given the string of bad news.
"The sheer volume of athletic department scandals attached to Greg Byrne at both Arizona and now Alabama is breathtaking," said USA TODAY's Dan Wolken.
"Greg Byrne’s job as Alabama athletic director has to be on the thinnest of ice lmao," said an Auburn fan. "Alabama athletics have been a massive continual PR yikes for the entirety of 2023 and to be the one in charge of overseeing all that?"
"At what point does Greg Byrne start getting held responsible for some of this?" asked Jake Crain of Crain & Company.
"We're one more Alabama athletic department mess up away from Saban just telling Greg Byrne he's now the athletic director," another commenter added.
"Been a rough couple months for Alabama athletics director Greg Byrne," said AL.com's Joseph Goodman in a massive understatement.
Byrne, 51, was hired at Alabama in 2017 after a seven-year stint at Arizona. He previously served as the AD at Mississippi State from 2008-10.