There is nothing Hugh Freeze loves more than blaming his players for faults of his own, like he did with Auburn offensive lineman Xavier Chaplin. It might’ve been a HIPAA violation.
The Tigers’ head coach revealed problematic hearing issues on behalf of his left tackle.
Regardless of the situation involving Chaplin, a college football coach with this many years of experience in the SEC must be better prepared for this kind of situation. To even try to put the issues on the offensive line is wrong.
Hugh Freeze put Xavier Chaplin on blast.
Former Virginia Tech offensive lineman Chaplin was expected to be one of the most impactful transfers for Auburn this season. He was considered a potential first round pick.
However, the 6-foot-7, 338-pound tackle has not quite lived up to expectations.
Although his blocking has not been an issue, Chaplin committed five different false starts during the last two games. The Tigers lost on the road at Oklahoma and on the road at Texas A&M— two of the loudest and most intimidating sports environments in the world.
It would’ve been very easy for Freeze to switch up the snap count to prevent this kind of problem. His offensive line could not hear his quarterback clap with 80,000+ fans screaming in full voice so he could’ve (and should’ve) switched to a silent count. He did not do so. Chaplin jumped five times.
Rather than blaming himself, Hugh Freeze administered a hearing test for/to Xavier Chaplin during the bye week. And the results actually came back to reveal an issue.
Hugh Freeze on Xavier Chaplin:
— The Barn (@TheBarn_Auburn) October 6, 2025
“We’ve done some testing on his hearing and there’s an issue there.
That goes back to us. Should have handled the cadence stuff differently for him…
Nobody hurts more than him. He was really distraught.”
(🎥 Auburn Athletics) pic.twitter.com/MmNb6UpQzE
Freeze was thrilled to share that information with the media even though Chaplin’s hearing would not matter at all if the head coach had changed the snap count. He could be 100% deaf on a silent count.
Was it a HIPAA violation?
Here is where I got to thinking. Freeze rarely takes accountability for his own faults. In this instance, he chose to reveal Chaplin’s legitimate health issue during a press conference instead of changing the snap count. It was Chaplin’s hearing that caused the false starts. Not his coaching.
Now, to be fair, I do not know whether Chaplin asked Freeze to share this information or if Freeze put him on blast without consent.
If it is the latter, that could be a HIPAA and/or FERPA violation.
Freeze, who is employed by Auburn, could be considered a “business associate” of Chaplin. A third-party vendor that works with a covered entity, in this case the hospital and/or doctor’s office, cannot disclose protected health information. Unauthorized disclosure of a hearing problem is a violation.
This information must be attached to a healthcare provider. So if Freeze learned of this hearing issue from Chaplin himself, he’s good. If he learned of the hearing issue from a team doctor or medical file and shared that information without Chaplin’s permission, it was a violation.
All of this could’ve been avoided if Freeze simply owned up to his own failures with the snap count. The solution is very simple. Don’t use a clap if players can’t hear a clap. An SEC coach should know better.