Stop whining: NCAA got it right on Cam Newton, Auburn
Cam Newton can go ahead of celebrate. The NCAA ruled that he and Auburn are in the clear.
Let me start this by declaring that I’m as cynical as the next person — OK, perhaps a little more — and I’m absolutely convinced there was a second gunman in the grassy knoll and there’s something about Area 51 that the government is not telling us.
But listen up: The NCAA got it right.
It could not suspend Cam Newton based on he whispered/he whispered.
It could not place Auburn on probation based on the fact the father of its star player admitted that he solicited money from ANOTHER school.
It could not significantly punish any athlete or institution based on what we all THINK must have happened simply because that’s what our suspicious mind tells us.
This whole saga has been one of the strangest NCAA investigations I can remember, in part because the athlete’s current school (Auburn) never was even connected to the allegations.
I know. Our head tells us: It’s Auburn. It’s the SEC. It’s big-time college football with big-time shenanigans. We’ve been exposed to so much of it in the past that we’ve come to believe that every player, coach, administrator and booster have been have been tainted. This story is even better than most because it involved a father allegedly pimping his kid . . . and he’s a minister!
At some point, you expected a Kardashian to show up on Toomers Corner.
But take a breath and, just for a moment, follow me through the levels of this thing. Then I’ll address why I don’t believe this can be compared to other recent cases, including the one at USC and A.J. Green’s suspension:
♦ Question: Did Cecil Newton, Cam’s father, solicit money from Mississippi State for his son’s services? Answer: Yes. INFRACTION.
♦ Question: Did Cam Newton know his father solicited an offer? Answer: Based on a lack of evidence, no. (If you want to assume otherwise, fine. But let’s just say I’m aware of situations where children did not know of things their parents did. Whether you consider that a longshot or not, the bottom line is that it can’t be proven.)
♦ Question: Did Cecil Newton receive money? Answer: Based on a lack of evidence, no.
♦ Question: Did Cam Newton receive money? Answer: Based on a lack of evidence, no.
♦ Question: Did Cam or Cecil Newton solicit an offer from Auburn? Answer: Based on a lack of evidence, no.
♦ Question: Did Cam or Cecil Newton receive money from Auburn. Answer: Based on a lack of evidence, no.
That’s it. There’s nothing else.
Now, should the NCAA continue to investigate this thing and discover that somebody in the Auburn athletic department or a big-bucks booster slipped a fat envelope under Cam’s door or paid for new floors and sheetrock in Cecil’s new church, then all bets are off.
But that’s not where we are right now.
Now, as for comparing Newton to other cases, I’ve been hearing from USC and Georgia fans all day and night and reading comments on line from various stunned officials, including USC athletic director Pat Haden. But this case is so not those cases. Consider:
♦ Newton vs. USC: Really? Fact: Reggie Bush’s parents received thousands of dollars in benefits from an agent. They lived in a home rent-free for one year. A USC assistant coach, Todd McNair, was tied directly to the case when the NCAA ruled he had knowledge of Bush’s dealings with agents. For whiny Trojan fans to be comparing their case to the Cam Newton case is completely nonsensical.
♦ Newton vs. A.J. Green: Really? Fact: Green sold his Independence Bowl jersey for $1,000. That’s a violation, even if he sold it to you. The fact that he sold to a person that the NCAA classified as an agent increased the suspension to four games. (Best estimate: It would’ve been two games otherwise.) It has not been found that Cam and Cecil Newton received anything (or sold his Blinn Community College jersey).
♦ Newton vs. Damon Stoudamire: This is a very similar case, as laid out by SportsByBrooks, in which the father of the former Arizona basketball star was accused by the NCAA of accepting a plane ticket from an agent in 1995. Stoudamire denied knowing about his father’s alleged transaction. The father denied taking the ticket. The NCAA suspended the player for a game, then reinstated him just before the NCAA tournament. But here’s where the cases go in different directions. The agent in question, Steve Feldman, ultimately admitted he gave airplane tickets to Stoudamire’s father. The father had to reiumburse him. The NCAA believed to other penalty was warranted. Coversely, there is no paper trail or evidence of any kind in the Newton case.
Some believe the NCAA has opened a giant loophole with this ruling — the thinking being that now every dad can go out and pimp his kid to universities, then just claim the kid knew nothing about it. The only problem with that theory is — again — Cecil Newton was not found to have taken anything.
If a father puts his son up for bidding and actually accepts a payment, effectively closing the deal, it really doesn’t matter whether the son knew or not. The athlete is ineligible. It’s like saying you want to rob a bank without ever doing it.
So enough with the NCAA bashing. They got it right. You can’t convict on conjecture.
♦
Recent episodes . . .
♦ Gruden to Miami would be manna for starving ACC
♦ Falcons are winning because they’re following Mike Smith
♦ Surprise! Spurrier proves South Carolina can be a player in SEC
♦ Alabama staffer fired for mocking Cam Newton with songs
♦
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1,356 comments Add your comment
Andrew
December 2nd, 2010
1:06 am
@UGA2002 Again, why is that relevant? Even if they were crystal clear to the SEC and NCAA, and I have never said that they were not, does that change the fact that what they said previously was untrue?
Simple question. Was the initial denial true or untrue? It has nothing to do with what they said to the NCAA after the proof was plopped on the table. Was their denial in the beginning a truth or untruth? Easy easy question…
Another easy question for you: If their initial story was untrue, is it possible that other parts of the story were untrue? I didn’t ask if they were untrue, I asked if it was possible. Again, really easy for you.
What we do know is that Daddy Newton did ask for money and was involved with an agent. Do we stick our heads back in the sand or do we ask if there is anything else coming?
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:09 am
Agree totally Andrew! What IS known in this case to wayyyy to oblivious to try and defend the SEC and NCAA’s decision.
UGA2002
December 2nd, 2010
1:10 am
I don’t think Georgia just suspended Jones because we’re on the up and up.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Ben Jones supsended for clip
Minutes before kickoff, Georgia has announced that center Ben Jones is suspended for the first half of tonight’s game because of his clip at Mississippi State.
A release says the decision was made after SEC commissioner Mike Slive and Georgia head coach Mark Richt “conferered.” Slive and Richt each watched replays of the clip, which riled up MSU head coach Dan Mullen.
“It was poor judgment on Ben’s part,” Richt said in the statement. “He feels very badly about the incident and has sent a note of apology to the Mississippi State player. I have talked with (Mississippi State Coach) Dan Mullen and he appreciated the concern and Ben’s apology.”
Read more: http://dawg-extra.blogspot.com/2010/10/ben-jones-supsended-for-clip.html#ixzz16vqbpwU0
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
1:14 am
UGA2002
Yes, Ben was so sorry he did the samething in other games as well. Boy Richt really showed him. Why was Ben Jones allowed to play at all in the Tech game after his display in the Auburn Game? Because Richt and UGA are no different than Auburn. WIN AT ALL COSTS.
Andrew
December 2nd, 2010
1:14 am
UgaDave @UGA2002
Yes, there was more to the Means case than Means, but it started out with allegations from anonymous sources and more of it proved to be untrue than true. However, the parts that stuck were pretty serious. The sabre rattling about the “death penalty” was pure hogwash. The death penalty is a thing of the past. I don’t think any serious person believed it was ever considered.
Yes, Logan Young was a Vandy alumnus. He did love UA and I never really understood why. Maybe the Means case was not the best example to make here, but I saw someone else mention it earlier and I lived in Memphis at the time and remember it well. Those were sad times for the SEC as well.
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:15 am
UGA2002 What’s your point? Bottom line is Jones sit out part of the game for ONE incident! Auburn didn’t sit Fairley one second for multiple cheap shots that were much more dirty than what Jone’s did!
IlliniDawg
December 2nd, 2010
1:16 am
Bottom line: can I still hate Can Newton and Auburn even if the NCAA and SEC has sucked his d***?
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
1:18 am
All times are SAD times for the SEC. The SEC only cares about winning and the money it can make. F the rules. Bama used to make the rules and the SEC just went along. The crap Bear Pulled is the basis for many of the rule written by the SEC and the NCAA.
UGA2002
December 2nd, 2010
1:18 am
Andrew, what did Cecil say to the NCAA and the SEC? That’s what matters. He can say whatever he wants in the press but what matters is what he told them and whatever it was it’s enough to have Cam declared eligible and reinstated despite your assertion there must, has to be, could only be, more. You don’t know what he may have said in January, July or all season long. You don’t know BUT IF YOU DO, please type it out.
The world is watching….
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:19 am
Andrew…cool! I live in Tipton County just to the north of Shelby and your right…omg! The Albert Means case was bad. LOL….did you see the follow-on interview about a year later where Means Mama was whining about how she never saw “any of that money” Poor thing…broke and in the Projects and I think it was Melrose Coach Kenny Ingram “kept all that money”
flagboy?
December 2nd, 2010
1:19 am
Wow, i think you continue to ignore my points, but that’s your decision, not mine. Of course, you could just continue to suggest some sort of bias. whatever.
who does the crime does the time. The kids out in USC right now are doing the time for the crime Reggie Bush did over 3 years ago. . . . maybe someone should take that up with the NCAA. We could use the AJ Green and his dad thing. . . maybe that would work.
anyway, i always enjoy an argument without the “you’re a nerd” or “i’m your boss” crap.
night all.
Stanford Alum in Atlanta
December 2nd, 2010
1:20 am
Why is Stanford’s red-shirt sophomore QB Andrew Luck projected to be the #1 NFL prospect over Cam Newton? If Newton is a lock for the Heisman, then why is he not the #1 NFL prospect?
Newton is certainly as valuable to Auburn as Luck is to Stanford. I would say Luck is more valuable to his team as Stanford’s academic requirements always make team depth an issue.
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
1:22 am
UGA DAVE you are stoned. Ben was flagged more than once and in more than 1 game for illegal CHOP BLOCKS. Ben tried to injure players in at least 3 different games and was flagged for it. The MSU hit was so freaking bad and not even close to the play they had to do something. Ben Jones was the dirtist Player in the SEC by far. Look at the number of penalities be got.
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:22 am
Agree mostly Stanford…..I do think that there is a certain modicum of bias against the West Coast!
Andrew
December 2nd, 2010
1:26 am
@UGA2002 It still doesn’t matter what anyone said to the NCAA. Was the story true before or was it false before? Lying to the media is lying. I don’t know what they said to the NCAA and neither do you. Nor is it relevant to the point.
I’m not going to keep repeating the same thing over and over just because you can’t comprehend it. They were not telling the truth before. Lying to the media is still called lying. Should we wonder if any of the other rumors were true also? I am not saying any of them are, but the question can certainly be asked.
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:28 am
Still….sorry man! Damn I missed that high! Let’s say I agree with your post….I still stand by my post that Ben has been penalized alot more for his play than Fairley! Fairley is out there trying to maim and the only flag he got was for one in the UGA game and for freaking dancing in the Bama game. You obliviously haven’t seen the video of Fairley cutting Murray’s face with his facemask that was all over the internet! Most disgusting act of cowardice I have EVER seen in any sport competion! Don’t even try to equate it with an illegal block
Andrew
December 2nd, 2010
1:31 am
@UgaDave Yes, I did see that interview. I lived in East Memphis for a year and ha business there for several years after I moved away. It’s a strange place, but I met a lot of good people there.
UGA2002
December 2nd, 2010
1:32 am
Andrew, lying to the media is nothing. Absolutely nothing. What you do in official testimony is everything. It’s always has been that way.
See ya.
Stanford Alum in Atlanta
December 2nd, 2010
1:33 am
@UgaDave.. bias is right. The Pac likes to point out the fact that the SEC plays a limited number of conference games, while the Pac plays all conference foes. Also, the SEC plays fewer road games and rarely has any marquee road games against out of conference opponents. Mid and late season games against the likes of Chattanooga, Idaho State, Louisiana-Monroe definitely get noticed and ridiculed.
As for Andrew Luck vs. Cam Newton… Luck is not only the pegged #1 NFL prospect over Newton. Luck (a red-shirt sophomore) clearly has other positives such as lack of any recruitment controversy and a true student-athlete competing at one of the nation’s absolute finest academic institution.
Pay the Man
December 2nd, 2010
1:35 am
So, dad asks for $$$ and sonny says, “Pops and I didn’t discuss it”. Yeah, the NCAA got it right and The Bear won all his championships with “student athletes”……
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:35 am
UGA2002 Surely you jest? Sorry but formal rules of evidence and laws don’t apply in the NCAA’s decisions. They are the same as Nascar’s! they can do what they deem “appropriate”
Andrew
December 2nd, 2010
1:36 am
In court, does the character of a witness get questioned?
If you or I make a public statement and lie and later make a public statement and don’t lie, we are still liars.
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:37 am
Stanford….come on Man….lol can’t get me to hating against my SEC
The Heisman is a joke! The best player in college last year by farrrr was that Beast of a DE at Nebraska….Suh?
wow
December 2nd, 2010
1:43 am
Flagboy….I’m not sure what posts of yours I ignored or what bias you are talking about?
I guess it’s easy to say that when somebody signs off. I thought we had a good debate going. Oh well.
Stanford Alum in Atlanta
December 2nd, 2010
1:47 am
The SEC definitely does well in football. It will be interesting to see if SEC teams will give up a November game against a Chattanooga or Idaho State and actually hit the road to play a home and away series with an Oregon or at a Nebraska. Auburn played USC a few years back with USC travelling to the country and smacking down the Tigers.
As for true conference of overall championships…. it’s the Pac10. By far the three top schools with the most championships in all sports are UCLA, Stanford, and USC. UCLA has 106 total team championships. Stanford is at 99. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Collegiate_Athletic_Association
Double Standard
December 2nd, 2010
1:49 am
Jeff,
You can spin this anyway you want, but the facts are this case and ruling is going to do more to damage NCAA sports, and the recruiting process. The NCAA just let USC off the hook if USC’s Lawyers use this same premise with the parents of Reggie Bush.
We all seem to hate USC and Reggie Bush and what they did to Collegiate Football, and even though it will take probably many months or years to fully understand the entire workings of the Cecil Newton and Cameron Newton case we will feel the same way after the last shoe is dropped on this story.
The logical answer to the question: Did Cameron Newton know his dad was shopping him around is a resounding “YES” and now all a kid has to be coached to say is “No, I did not know, my Dad( brother, uncle, aunt, mom, coach, cousin, godparent, guardian) were asking for anything”. Denial is all a kid has to do and even if he or she has recieved extra benefits he or she can walk away free to abuse the system.
The most troubling thing about this case is the History of Auburn allows us all to believe through multi-years of transgression proven in recent years is that Auburn has a system in place to pay players and allow this practice to go unchecked since the days of Pat Dye. Auburn University has been proven in recent years to violate Academic standards by allowing student athletes to take classes where little or no work is required and where online courses are taken where no work is required.
This was a compete set up, Not announcing Cameron Newton was ineligible, then coming out the next day and saying he was declared ineligible but he has been re-instated has all the makings of a set up through the SEC/NCAA and Auburn staffs. This is the last week of Heisman Voting and you can mark it down that played a role in this entire fiasco.
The most telling point in this saga was the orchestrated press release by the NCAA, SEC, and Auburn University, with the final paragraph stating the most obvious that the enforcement side has not completed its investigation and is not reflective of their complete findings.
If it looks like a rat, smells like a rat, walks like a rat, acts like a rat, It is a Rat.
Folks this is real Ratty and unless South Carolina upsets Auburn on Saturday this will be the unjustified ruling ever by the NCAA.
aualum87
December 2nd, 2010
1:51 am
You UGA posters that are complaining have obviously never played sports…once you start chop blocking and trying to ruin a career, all bets are off and it’s “game on”…and Nick says he’s “sowwy he hit your whittle quarterback too hard”…and I thought there was a rule that you had to have a winning season before you could talk smack….or at least have beaten a team, ANY team, with a winning record out of your whopping 6 wins this year….must suck to be a Dawg fan these days…oh well, you still have the “how many players will get arrested this offseason” to look forward to…..
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
1:53 am
UgaDave I did see Fairley on Murray play. I also saw Gamble try to twist Ant Allens head off in the UGA TECH game on the first play Tech had the ball. Fairley may have been a step late on some of his hits, but Ben Jones was knowingly Chop Blocking too. The Flags didn’t stop him either. Fairley kept doing what he was doing because he didn’t get flags. That means the hits were OK.
Andrew
December 2nd, 2010
1:53 am
stanford, I think your qb is great and will do well at the next level. However, I’d disagree with you on the SEC schedules. Let’s take Alabama’s schedule and compare it to Stanford’s. Alabama had 5 road games to Stanford’s 6. Alabama played 7 teams currently in the top 25. Stanford played 2. Alabama played three of those on the road and two of those three had bye weeks leading into their game. Alabama played Penn State out of conference and has FSU, Michigan, Penn State, etc. on schedule over the next three seasons as out of conference games.
Sure, they gave their former coach a late season game, but it was a good way to get the other players some playing time.
Auburn played 5 teams currently in the top 25, even if they only played one of them on the road. They will also have to play one more game than Stanford by virtue of having a conference championship game before a BCS game. SEC teams play 8 conference games a season. Stanford has played 9.
Stanford plays some exciting football and I hope they do well, but neither of our conferences play Boise schedules.
Miles
December 2nd, 2010
1:56 am
Yeah…ok, Schultz…and O.J. Simpson didn’t kill his wife based on a lack of evidence too…
wow
December 2nd, 2010
1:56 am
Stanford…let’s see, Tenn has played, over the past 10 years, home and aways with….
Cal
Miami
Notre Dame
UCLA
Oregon
They have Oklahoma coming up in the next few years.
Double Standard
December 2nd, 2010
1:56 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkQ1f85kiME
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
1:59 am
Still….I am referring mostly to the incident where he cut Murray’s face with his facemask!!!!! If he was playing for any other team in the SEC…..suspended! But the SEC always takes care of it’s #1 team…did it with Florida, then Alabama and now it is Auburn.
Double Standard
December 2nd, 2010
2:01 am
Lets ask one more question:
If this was kid on a 6-6 team that was not going to a confernce championship game or a BCS NCG,
Would the NCAA acted or ruled the same way? The answer is a two letter word.
aualum87
December 2nd, 2010
2:02 am
To the UGA fans that are whining, you may want to look into joining the ACC….we play real football in the SEC, and sometimes, it gets a little tough, but UGA would fit nicely into the ACC brand…
From Buck Belue: “If Fairley were a Dawg, he’d be a rock star!”
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
2:04 am
UgaDave UGA had 2 personal fouls on the first series of the game against Auburn. UGA was talking smack and started the cheap crap from the kickoff. I think UGA fans are just made because the bullie got out BULLIED and it hurt the dawgs feelings. UGA Started it by stomping on Midfield. WTF did the dawgs expect? Well, they expected Auburn to be scared, but Fairley said FU mutts and take this AZZ whipping home with you.
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
2:04 am
AU…enjoy ur moment in the spotlight! U FINALLY beat the Dawgs this year….enjoy ur trash! Me thinks the Dawg fans will have the last laugh on the 2010 Edition of the Auburn Tigers along with the rest of the College Football Nation. Auburn knew that Cam was “tainted”…guess they and the Tiger nation will have to live with their decision! Like I said…enjoy it!!!!!
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
2:08 am
Aualum The last times Auburn played Tech the Tiger were ranked and Tech beat your AZZ. Reggie Ball beat you in Atlanta and AU was ranked in the top 10 with the crushed Campbell soup can and the beatup used Cadalic Williams. Don’t talk ACC crap when the last ACC team you played a Home and Home with whipped dat Butt.
Double Standard
December 2nd, 2010
2:08 am
http://bloghawgs.com/2010/02/23/write-this-caption-auburn-signee-dakota-mosley-of/
Auburn signees after signing with Auburn…check it out…
aualum87
December 2nd, 2010
2:10 am
still@thebar….exactly….I was at the game and they started with the midfield logo stomp (typical gimmicks from UGA, whatever it takes to get them fired up), and then #38 starts taunting our sideline during the timeout…not to mention on the 3rd or 4th play of the game, after an offsides call on Auburn, Richt walks 5 yards out on the field, points down at the flag, points directly at Cam Newton and starts waving his arm to “bring it back” for the penalty….Richt looked desperate that night (with good reason)….just glad we beat their a**…and by the way, for the game, UGA= 5 personal fouls, AU = 2 personal fouls, so tell me who the dirty players are….can’t wait to beat their a** again next year so that the whining can continue….sucks to be a Dawg fan these days…
aualum87
December 2nd, 2010
2:13 am
still@thebar, try to follow along, we played an ACC team this year and beat their a**, which Tech couldn’t do……how does 6-6 taste….OUCH!!
28 seniors
December 2nd, 2010
2:15 am
28 seniors, 4 hired players and an OC gone, what will Auburn look like 2011?
Ole Miss or Vandy?
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
2:16 am
aualum…..Auburn had just 2 personal fouls? Ur a tool who can’t even count! Yep…you must be from Auburn! No wonder everyone else in the SEC refers to you as “Barners”! Might wish to double check your numbers cause you ain’t even close! I’ll help ya get started…Fairley…late hit on the QB….Mmmmmm Their goes one D Line player…ejected….there goes another D Line player ejected….use ur toes bubba…we are up to three already….
aualum87
December 2nd, 2010
2:18 am
still@thebar, are you really talking smack about Tech…..they have not been relevant in 15 years to the College Football world…I’ll give you a dollar if Ga Tech’s name has even been mentioned on a sports show outside of Atlanta in 10 years…seriously, Reggie Ball?…I know it’s tough playing Duke, Virginia, and Wake Forest each year, but you can’t talk smack about the SEC when you’ve lost 9 out of 10 to your in-state SEC rival…they are going to start scheduling Tech for Homecoming weekend….
My Dawgs still own Your Auburn Tigers
December 2nd, 2010
2:18 am
Yeah Auburn got so desperate to win they upped their signing bonuses..just to be competitive with UGA, Ala, LSU, Florida.
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
2:18 am
aualum87
Clemson? Beat their AZZ? 27-24 in OT? you were drunk or remembering a different game
UgaDave
December 2nd, 2010
2:19 am
Stomping on the Midfield logo……hmmmm wondering how that compares to Auburn pulling the turf off the field at Athens acouple years ago….makes sense! Auburn did have to feed their Cheerleaders
aualum87
December 2nd, 2010
2:19 am
ugaDave, yep my bad it was 3, you win….still 5 is more than 3
aualum87
December 2nd, 2010
2:21 am
@MyDawgs…”to be competitive with UGA”??? Uh, we’re 12-0 and you’re 6-6, try beating a team with a winning record at least once this year, and then you can beat your chest all you want…
still@the bar
December 2nd, 2010
2:23 am
AUALUM87 so Reggie Ball sucked that is the point HE BEAT YOUR AZZ 17-3 in 2003. @ AU in 2005 we beat you 23-14 still with Reggie Ball. AHHAHA don’t seem like 15 years ago to me.