Cam Newton, Terrelle Pryor rulings are completely different
Nobody asked me but:
The Cameron Newton and Terrelle Pryor rulings are completely different: Since Ohio State’s Pryor has already played (and won) the Sugar Bowl and Auburn’s Newton will (probably) play in his last college football game Monday night, I’m going to make this point one last time and call it a day.
I had more than a few people from Big Ten country write and tell me that Pryor should get to play inthe Sugar Bowl because Newton got to play in the SEC championship game and beyond. It’s the same NCAA and fair is fair.
First of all, I thought Pryor played great Tuesday night. There is no question that he still has some maturity issues to work through but he is a marvelous athlete playing the quarterback position.
But, in a nutshell, here is the difference in the two rulings:
Pryor: There was a finding of FACT that he and four other Ohio State players exchanged stuff that was given to him by the school for something of value (like money and tattoos). Money did change hands. There is a clear penalty for that in the rule book: four game suspension. The NCAA tacked on another game because it happened a year ago and the players did not report it. You may think it is a stupid rule (a lot of people do) but the rule is clear. The goofy part is that the penalty starts next season, but that’s a completely different argument.
Newton: There was a finding of fact that the father, Cecil Newton, had a conversation with a former Mississippi State player (Kenny Rogers) not affiliated with the school, about the POSSIBILITY of getting paid. There was no finding that money ever changed hands. There was no finding that those kinds of discussions took place with anybody connected to Auburn.
And here is the key component. Unlike the Ohio State case, there was NOT a specific rule in the NCAA manual to deal with the Newton case. There was a lot of speculation in the conventional media and the social media that SOMETHING was going on here. But when it came time to make the decision, the only facts the NCAA had were that Cecil Newton had a conversation with Kenny Rogers and that no such conversations had taken place with anybody connected to Auburn.
Bottom line: If the NCAA could have proven that Cecil Newton had a similar conversation with somebody who had Auburn ties, the son would not be playing today. If the NCAA could have proven that Cecil Newton had taken money from somebody with Mississippi State ties, the son would not be playing Monday night. There was a helluva lot of speculation that SOMETHING took place. And I have heard from people who believe that it simply defies logic that there wasn’t more to this story.
I understand and sympathize with that point of view. But what you BELIEVE and what you can PROVE are different things. It’s a tough case.
And here’s another point. A lot of people have written that the reason Cam Newton was not punished was that he did not know what his father was up to. In retrospect the NCAA should have not included that factor because it only clouds its ruling. The fact that Cam Newton did not know was a MITIGATING factor but not a DECIDING factor in the ruling. There is a big difference.
The NCAA could not sit Cameron Newton because it did not have a specific rule to address this specific case. That’s it. I feel confident in saying that there will be such a rule in the future.
I hope that settles it but I have a feeling this case will never be settled.
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581 comments Add your comment
m
January 6th, 2011
9:23 am
By the way, the mighty sec is 3-4 in the bowl games. The sec has been exposed. All hype conference.
What's a d a w g?
January 6th, 2011
9:23 am
dawg man, you’re exactly who I’m talking about. Pathetic!
LCDawg
January 6th, 2011
9:23 am
Forget Cam & Pryor. How about comparing Pryor to AJ? It’s eal simple folks and well documented, money. The head of the Sugar Bowl appealed (heavily) to the NCAA to hold off on the suspensions since it would have hurt ticket sales and TV ratings. Truly disgusting. A banner year for the NCAA
Good grief
January 6th, 2011
9:23 am
I was opposed to $cam playing in the title game at first, but after seeing the disgraceful NCAA make the most hypocritical decision possible with the Suckeye players I’m now all in favor of $cam playing in the title game.
joe
January 6th, 2011
9:24 am
Aubie fans will defend Newton until the day he dies. If Newton, or any other Auburn player, showed up on campus with 200k stuffed in his pockets, everyone would look the other way.
So would any other teams fans. Richt nees a better bagman for sure.
I am waiting, but it never will happen to find out the results of the money laundering going on through Victory Land and the other casinos. All teams in the SEC should not want that to happen, especially the Alabama teams.
AU fans jump up and down now in hysterics and accuse me of hyprocrisy, no facts, and any other things you can think of.
Oh the NCAA is a big time joke.
Come on Now
January 6th, 2011
9:24 am
Defend the NCAA? How can you do that and keep a straight face. The whole situation, especially in Newton’s case, is a joke. The NCAA seems to decide if you are “guilty until proven innocent” or “innocent until proven guilty” based on a whim or if you have a BCS bowl scheduled.
Lessons to be learned
1) While college players always sit down with their parents first when deciding to turn pro, they do not when deciding college choices.
2) If you are going to violate rules wait until important games are done and bowl schedule announced.
3) If you are going to violate rules make sure your status impacts television ratings.
4) If you want to sell jerseys, rings, or your services have your father do it for you. Very helpful if your father is a minister and any funds can be laundered through church. Boosters appreciate it as they get a tax deduction as well as the services they need.
NCAA
January 6th, 2011
9:24 am
If you never paid your pusher, then you didn’t actually buy the drugs.
Why is that so hard to understand?
Schad Is A Scab
January 6th, 2011
9:26 am
To all the know-it-alls on here why do you think this story died out so suddenly. Never once did Auburn come up in any of the allegations. Most unusual timing considering all this information was known last January? The story was broke specifically to create controversy for the BCS and the Heisman Trophy race. Classic media tactic, drag up a past story to throw some mud, then see what sticks. Miss. St boosters are the ones who should be in trouble. Instead everyone points the finger at Auburn without a shred of evidence implicating them whatsoever. Sad……
Good grief
January 6th, 2011
9:27 am
m -
3 of the 4 SEC loses were by 5 points or less and decided in the waning minutes of the game. Two of which were practically stolen due to miracle plays and questionable officiating. The only definitive loss was SC to FSU and that was only by 9. I’m positive which ever conference you pull for has suffered legitimate a$$ whoopings.
Paul N Destin
January 6th, 2011
9:27 am
Auburn will do anything and everything to win and have for years. Read the New York Times article today regarding Auburn and their football teams education issues. Plus the gambling probe has expanded for the Tigers. This is going to be huge when it’s all complete.The barners deserve it and they will get it!
Regarding m
January 6th, 2011
9:29 am
Good grief,
m doesn’t pull for any team. He only “pulls” himself.
DawginLex
January 6th, 2011
9:30 am
m is and always has been a loudmouthed obnoxious ACC homer and Techie
That beatdown that VT got should make anyone with any semblance of a brain keep their trap shut about A SHE SHE football.
WawWeagle
January 6th, 2011
9:31 am
Paul N Destin,
You mean this article? http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/sports/ncaafootball/06auburn.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
That’s old news man — get over it!
Bill Stanfill
January 6th, 2011
9:33 am
Auburn’s football program under head coach Gene Chizik has dropped to 85th in the NCAA’s annual measure of college athletic teams’ Academic Progress Rate.
When asked to comment, Chizik said, “We’re doing a great job, so we’re not concerned about that.”
Is anybody surprised that he’s “not concerned” about something as trivial as the academic progress of Auburn’s athletes?
WawWeagle
January 6th, 2011
9:34 am
At least our white kids still graduate. We were doing a pretty good job with the colored guys until that Gundlach SOB blew the whistle on us.
WawWeagle
January 6th, 2011
9:36 am
We’re giving Cam an honorary degree if he beats the Ducks. That should help our ratings.
m
January 6th, 2011
9:37 am
The sec is 0-2 with the ACC in the bowl games. The sec is the all hype conference.
ga gator
January 6th, 2011
9:37 am
Bill Stanfill what would you expect; Chizek learned under Charlie Pell.
sampson
January 6th, 2011
9:38 am
great read
Good grief
January 6th, 2011
9:38 am
Any ACC fan that attempts to talk trash about UGA and the SEC are either delusional or the most ignorant college football fan around.
Good grief
January 6th, 2011
9:39 am
BCS wins by the entire ACC = 2
BCS by just UGA = 2
Enough said…..
charliecole
January 6th, 2011
9:39 am
http://www.secsportsworld.blogspot.com
Jan Kemp
January 6th, 2011
9:39 am
Bill Stanfill,
What was that about glass houses and stones? UGA was graduating illiterates under Jan Kemp and 30 yrs later Jim harrick Jr and his how many pts for a 3 pt shot.
Jan Kemp
January 6th, 2011
9:40 am
Just more jealous loser dawg fans. Looooooooosers!
Hey dawg fans – How many pts for a 3 pt shot???
Lambert
January 6th, 2011
9:41 am
WawWeagle,
Careful. I was banned on Schultz’s blog for simply saying the word “race.” I doubt if TB is a Communist, liberal, hypocritical PC buffoon like the Schultz Nazi, but be careful.
WAR SCAM EAGLE
January 6th, 2011
9:42 am
One thing we can prove Tony and that is you are an idiot. You have written enough columns to prove that. What a joke.
Frank Mannarino
January 6th, 2011
9:43 am
TOM…wrong is wrong….don’t cloud the issue with NCAA mumbo-jumbo….both Pryor and Newton were wrong…..”Gee – Son want to go to MS State” you cannot tell me Cam did not know what his Dad was doing in the background. Not buying it,
Lambert
January 6th, 2011
9:43 am
Hey Jan Kemp, you should read the piece done by a New York paper that interviewed Kenny Anderson last year about graduating from some podunk technical college up there. He said he wasn’t used to being forced to doing his own work in college and wanted to quit numerous times but his baby mama made sure he kept with it.
Tell me, where did he spend two years at playing basketball in college again? I can’t seem to remember….
Macon
January 6th, 2011
9:44 am
This should add an intresting touch to Barnhart’s defense
of Scam Newton.
Here’s a story from the November 23, 2010 issue of the New York Times about Cecil Newton’s “church” that Barnhart DEFINITELY does not want you to read:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/24/sports/ncaafootball/24newton.html
Here’s the KEY sentence from that article:
“Blandburg said the congregation was relieved to have the repairs completed, but would not say how they were able to pay for them.”
So, who is Blandburg?
That’s Ms. Bobbie Blandburg, the Church’s Chief Financial Officer.
Soooooooooooooo, the Church’s very own CFO…has NO IDEA…
HOW…the church paid for its needed repairs?? Really??
Only 3 possibilities exist here:
1. Blandburg is the most ignorant/incompetent CFO on the planet.
2. Blandburg DOES KNOW how it was paid for, but want reveal that.
3. Blandburg was intentially kept in the dark as to HOW the repairs were paid for.
It can ONLY be one of these 3 scenarios.
So, why doesnt someone from the AJC go
ask THE CONTRACTORS that actually did the repair work?
Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo !!!!
How were the contractors paid by: Cash, Check, Credit Card?
Folks, there is a money trail here.
As one astute sports reporter recently suggested:
ONLY AFTER…the BCS money has changed hands and Auburn and the SEC have been paid, and Scam Newton has left Auburn in the dust…
will there be “shocking news” that will reveal what everyone on this planet…but Barnhart…knows, and that is that MONEY CHANGED HANDS, and that money trail will likely connect Auburn, or someone directly linked to Auburn to Cecil and Scam Newton, anf that it was a BLANTANT PAY FOR PLAY set-up from the very beginning.
And, in the end, after ALL is revealed, Barnhart’s credibility
will end up where it belongs: the toilet.
Shug
January 6th, 2011
9:45 am
I have a strange feeling that if Pryor played in the SEC Mr. College Football would be defending him, and if Newton weren’t a Southerner Mr. CFB would be leading the lynch party.
m
January 6th, 2011
9:48 am
The sec talks the talk…but they cannot walk the walk. 3-4 in the bowl games overall, 0-2 just with the ACC. The sec is the all hype conference.
DawginLex
January 6th, 2011
9:52 am
m,
Past SEC champions and ending ranking:
2002 UGA #2
2003 LSU #1
2004 Auburn #2
2005 UGA #6
2006 florida #1
2007 LSU #1
2008 Florida #1
2009 alabama #1
2010 Auburn playing for national title
ACC list? Care to provide?
You are a joke.
Lambert
January 6th, 2011
9:52 am
M, you have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting. You are hereby deemed irrelevant. Good day.
JASon
January 6th, 2011
9:53 am
“The Cameron Newton and Terrelle Pryor rulings are completely different”
Wow. Congratulations on that epiphany. The accompanying explanation was must-read material.
Tomsjeep88
January 6th, 2011
9:54 am
“But when it came time to make the decision…”
The NCAA dropped the ball on this one. The “decision” came down 2-3 days before the SEC championship game. What’s the NCAA and/or the SEC to do? Declare Newton & AU ineligible? They couldn’t just call Arkansas and tell them to be in Atlanta in 48 hours. The decision makers in this case must all be praying that Oregon wins the game, Newton turns pro, and this story will fade away.
dawgfan#2
January 6th, 2011
9:55 am
All I can say is AU is a disgrace to the SEC! And NO,I will not get over it.Your School is pathetic!
Mike
January 6th, 2011
9:58 am
The Cam Newton situation is a disgrace and the NCAA should be ashamed of letting him play! Fans should boycott all sponsors, networks, and NOT watch the the criminal (BCS game)!!
Buckeye
January 6th, 2011
9:59 am
How many kids sell stuff and don’t get caught. More than a few I would guess.
Think of all the stupid stuff you did at 19 or 20. Most would have to admit it’s a wonder we’re a) alive or b) not is jail.
For all of you that have never run a stop sign or gone 10 over the speed limit, congratulations. Oh ya, that’s illegal.
Pryor ( and AJ for that matter) did not commit a crime.
Blame the adults, not the kids.
vannie
January 6th, 2011
10:00 am
Cry babies.
boog
January 6th, 2011
10:00 am
Barnhart…your conclusions have become so predictable.
Buckeye
January 6th, 2011
10:00 am
I think a lost of you UGA posters have Napolean’s complex and are always coming up short.
BAMA dude
January 6th, 2011
10:01 am
Morning all. Yes, the difference between Cam and Pryor is obvious. The NCAA has never handed down sanctions in a situation where no benefits were actually received. The current information suggests that Cecil failed in his moneymaking endeavor. So it goes. On a better note, great choice Xzavier!
Schad Is A Scab
January 6th, 2011
10:02 am
Macon now that your ignorant rant is finished READ THIS passage that you “convieniently left out right before you cherry-picked your quote!!!A few weeks later,
Cecil Newton’s eldest son, Cecil Jr., wrote the city a letter promising to pay $5,000 to $7,000 a month until the repairs were completed. Cecil Newton Jr., 24, was with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, most of it on the practice squad, until he became injured and was waived in September.
Schad Is A Scab
January 6th, 2011
10:03 am
A few weeks later, Cecil Newton’s eldest son, Cecil Jr., wrote the city a letter promising to pay $5,000 to $7,000 a month until the repairs were completed. Cecil Newton Jr., 24, was with the Jacksonville Jaguars last season, most of it on the practice squad, until he became injured and was waived in September.
m
January 6th, 2011
10:04 am
tony, write us a column and explain why the all hype conference, the sec, likes to talk the talk but can’t walk the walk in the bowl games. Why did the sec get so exposed in the bowl games? Is it because they just can’t match this redneck hype on here? sec 3-4 in the bowl games….all hype.
BAMA dude
January 6th, 2011
10:04 am
Practice squad players don’t clear $5k per month.
Dawg_Central
January 6th, 2011
10:05 am
A solicitation for money, even though none changed hands is a violation, and it was Cam Newton’s father doing this !!! Not a coach or a double first cousin, so yea, NCAA is a fraud…..I say let them all play…it’s a joke anyhow….any idiot that thinks Cam Newton is clean, is just that !! I think Pryor and those guys are cleaner than Cam, at least the stuff they sold was THERE property, no one elses…..Cam = Cecil Newton……Auburn can claim ignorance, but really they clain “not giving a crap”…except for winning !! NCAA….Bosworth said it best !!
DawginLex
January 6th, 2011
10:05 am
buckeye,
I live in Lexington KY and no one can tell me with a straight face that if you substitute “Cam Newton” with “John Wall” and substitute “Gene Chizik” with “John Calipari” that we don’t have a different outcome.
Rulings like this need to be handled consistently and the same for all schools. The NCAA hand picks based on the school, the coach, the timing and the dollars involved.
It is a joke.
travy
January 6th, 2011
10:06 am
ludicrous. this is like comparing discussing murder for hire and getting a parking ticket. the ncaa is going down. too much corruption flowing through the system. someone’s gonna bust it open.
Schad Is A Scab
January 6th, 2011
10:06 am
Just goes to show Macon didn’t even read the article. Just cherry-pick a quote, completely ignoring the paragraph before. So utterly clueless…..