Auburn, Alabama — Auburn football quarterback TJ Finley was arrested Thursday after police tried to prevent him from using some form of moped to evade police on a traffic violation charge.
On July 26, a week before his arrest, police tried to stop Finley from not wearing a helmet. The Auburn quarterback fled police and “committed several other traffic violations in the process,” according to a police statement. “For safety’s sake, police stopped the pursuit on both occasions.”
According to a press release from the Auburn Police Department, Finley was riding a motorcycle. But in a statement released Thursday by Finley’s lawyers to the Montgomery Advertiser, the vehicle Finley was driving was described as a scooter, not a motorcycle.
Finley was eventually identified and police obtained a warrant for his arrest. Finley turned himself in on Thursday after hearing a warrant. He was held at the Lee County Detention Center, but by mid-afternoon he was back at the Auburn Football Team facility, where players reported the start of the preseason.
Davis Whittlesey, the Lee County attorney representing Finley, described the pending charges as a “misunderstanding.”
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“These charges are being dealt with in city court within the city of Auburn, like all traffic summonses,” Whittlesey said in the statement. Released. His first day of football camp at Auburn was a success.”
Finley spent a year at Auburn after moving from LSU before the 2021 season. He went into preseason training, entrenched in the quarterback game, and moved to Zach Calzada and Robbie Ashford as starters.
“He’s been here. He’ll be here tonight. He’ll practice tomorrow,” Auburn coach Brian Hassing said Thursday when asked if the allegations would affect Finley’s standing on the team. “So we know what happened.”
After Finley moved to Auburn, he replaced former quarterback Bonix and started the final three games after the Knicks suffered a season-ending ankle injury.
Auburn lost all three, but Finley also saved Auburn from a loss to Georgia State in September when he replaced the struggling Knicks with 45 seconds left. Completed the winning touchdown.
It was the fourth goal situation, with Auburn trailing 24-20 and needing a touchdown. Chased 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage, Finley ducked from a sack, dodged defenders, and threw the ball to Sheldrick Jackson in the end zone.
