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
Bear Bryant
December 2nd, 2010
11:08 am
Where the hell did all these worms come from?
Vince Dooley
December 2nd, 2010
11:09 am
Let’s talk about the 1980 season.
jarvis
December 2nd, 2010
11:09 am
Bear…that actually made me laugh out loud.
Randy
December 2nd, 2010
11:10 am
This year will probably be the first year in which every SEC team wants a member of it’s own conference to lose it’s bowl game. Shows how low AU is rated in this conference…… right below the hole in their port a johns they call bathrooms inside their trailers.
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:10 am
“Geez…another English major.”
Nope, just smart enough to know how to write coherent sentences. You, not so much.
“Gotta go, these nerds ruin it as usual.”
Yeah, those pizzas won’t deliver themselves.
Rob
December 2nd, 2010
11:10 am
sccatfan1
December 2nd, 2010
10:39 am
Rob, I suppose you have PROOF that Cam plotted to rob the bank? Call the NCAA…they obviously need your help.
**************************
Clearly they do. This ruling is a mockery. Schultz used the analogy of robbing a bank, and I pointed out that a crime of attempt is completed once preparations have been made. Cecil Newton attempted to solicit money in turn for his son’s committment, whether Cam knew of this or not is irrelevant based upon SEC Bylaws and the rules and regulations of the NCAA.
This ruling creates a catastrophic loophole for recruiting shenanigans and is a mockery of the enforcement of eligibility. No matter what team you root for or school you attended.
Nova Roars
December 2nd, 2010
11:10 am
Bear Bryant
December 2nd, 2010
11:08 am
Where the hell did all these worms come from?
********************
If Bama fans would stop resurrecting you, the worms would stay buried.
jarvis
December 2nd, 2010
11:11 am
If you use spellcheck on a blog, you’re prolly a d*ck.
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:11 am
“This year will probably be the first year in which every SEC team wants a member of it’s own conference to lose it’s bowl game. ”
Which won’t affect Auburn, Auburn fans, or Auburn players in any way.
“Shows how low AU is rated in this conference”
We’re 12-0. Is 12-0 considered low?
“right below the hole in their port a johns they call bathrooms inside their trailers.”
Says the guy from Georgia. LOL
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:12 am
“This ruling is a mockery.”
You should write a letter to Obama.
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:13 am
“If you use spellcheck on a blog, you’re prolly a d*ck.”
Thanks for clarifying to everyone that you didn’t go to college.
Tech Tony
December 2nd, 2010
11:13 am
I have no dog in this fight but without having read all 21 pages of posts on this topic up to this point, here’s what I find interesting:
In the juvenile court system, ways are being debated to make parents legally responsible for the criminal actions of their children.
The NCAA has rules making a kid responsible for the actions of their parents. In this case, it chose not to enforce that rule.
Is it any wonder that we’re losing sight of what justice is?
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:13 am
Nova Roars
I heard a rumor from a “source” that Bama fans secretly pray to the statue of Nick Saban.
Jeffro Bodeen
December 2nd, 2010
11:14 am
….and OJ goes free!!!!
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:15 am
“In the juvenile court system, ways are being debated to make parents legally responsible for the criminal actions of their children. ”
Guess you’ve never heard of individualism.
Northern Sympathizer
December 2nd, 2010
11:15 am
Fair enough.
chillahill43
December 2nd, 2010
11:16 am
It has been said once and will be said again –You cant spell God AwfUl without UGA!!!
Pathetic bunch of leg humpers that have a a mind set of The Notre Dame University. Yall were bigtime once (1980) and yet yall think you are a big time program.. Wake up people, you are and average team year after year and 2 sec championships in 40 years does not make you a BIG time
program. SEC East is a joke and without FLA representing yall for 10 of the last 13 your a WAC program.. Wake up The SEC WEST is the predominant league. The other 5 teams in the east could probably compete with Boise and Nevada year in and year out but I aint real sure about that… Ga big time…. My ribs are killing me from the laughter….. GA big time REALLY?
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:17 am
chillahill43
Couldn’t have written it better myself. UGA still thinks that they can compete with UF.
StatesBurr
December 2nd, 2010
11:18 am
Athens, Ga or Aubarn, Al… are you kidding me? Is there a comparision?
No wonder Auburn has the highest number of weather radios per capita…you know when the Tornado season arrives…
AU Fan-Nova: Yes..two nerds sittng at home sharing a computer..How quaint.
chillahill43
December 2nd, 2010
11:18 am
….And no matter what you Ga grads- or drive by degree holders think- EVERY school in the SEC thinks your program is a joke.. They laugh at Y’ALL not with you….
jarvis
December 2nd, 2010
11:19 am
Me fail college? That’s unpossible.
Nova Roars
December 2nd, 2010
11:21 am
AU Fan
I heard from a third party source that heard through a keyhole that Nick Saban intentionally lost to Gene Chizik!
jarvis
December 2nd, 2010
11:21 am
chillahill43…your insults are too long. It’s like trying to read a Dennis Miller joke. Get to the puncline already.
thomas
December 2nd, 2010
11:22 am
AJC, I’ll resubscribe to your paper if you fire Jeff Schultz. Jeff, you are the worst. And may god have mercy on your soul.
Tech Tony
December 2nd, 2010
11:22 am
Guess you’ve never heard of individualism.
Guess you missed the point entirely.
StatesBurr
December 2nd, 2010
11:22 am
chillahill43 : Are you the 4th cousin of Bo?? At least Nova and AUFan are sort of witty…
Headley Lamar
December 2nd, 2010
11:23 am
If any of you people had ever been to Auburn you wouldn’t be giving them a hard time.
Its one big trailer park surrounded by cow pastures.
Who cares if they win it. They are Auburn. Its a dump.
This will provide some clear insite
December 2nd, 2010
11:24 am
We all know that it happens all the time. See USC, see UT see AU over history,etc. Kids lie to the NCAA, games are played and championships are won and then the school is toast after they leave campus. This story is as old as Stone Mountain.
Lie to the NCAA and for now maybe, you skate and play in the big game, win the prizes and go pro. Fine IF you are kid that is turning pro. You got what you wanted. The NCAA and the SEC for now could not find anything that should prohibit Scam from playing in the big game ……………….at this moment.
Now, the FBI is totally different. Ask you AU self whether you had rather lie to the SEC and the NCAA or to the FBI. Lying to the NCAA for now might work. You ARE DONE AS SOON AS THE YEAR IS OVER ANYWAY.
Lie to the FBI and you will get some jail time. The FBI can issue supeonas and that is NOT what the NCAA ca do.
AU family ………………….it is just beginning for yall. That I-85 race track thug and his all ready existing charges of $$$ political bribes is the tip of the iceberg for AU. The Bureau wants to know if money was offered from the shady world of gambling and um, ah, y’all know the rest of this story. Ugly it will get.
chillahill43
December 2nd, 2010
11:24 am
Jarvis Hard to have a punchline when the only Joke is the UGA Football Team.. Maybe Fox can get them to the NIT in Basketball… GO DAWGS WOOF WOOF…..
jarvis
December 2nd, 2010
11:25 am
That was better. Keep with that line of thought.
Nova Roars
December 2nd, 2010
11:25 am
StatesBurr
December 2nd, 2010
11:18 am
Athens, Ga or Aubarn, Al… are you kidding me? Is there a comparision?
****************************
Well, maybe for once we agree. There is no comparison. Athens had no choice but to improve the jail accommodations to house the high increase thUGA players being arrested.
chillahill43
December 2nd, 2010
11:25 am
Hey StatesB
Aint trying to be funny… Its called the truth….. Get over it…..
Headley Lamar
December 2nd, 2010
11:25 am
Dirtiest Program in NCAA history not named SMU
MOST-PENALIZED DIVISION I PROGRAMS:
Arizona State 8
Southern Methodist 8
Auburn 7
Florida State 7
Memphis 7
Minnesota 7
Oklahoma 7
Texas A&M 7
Wichita State 7
Wisconsin 7
✭Nine programs have been penalized six times, including USC and UCLA.
Vince Dooley
December 2nd, 2010
11:26 am
I’m going to plant flowers at the new jail house.
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:26 am
“you know when the Tornado season arrives”
So what’s wrong with not wanting to die?
StatesBurr
December 2nd, 2010
11:27 am
Headly: I swear no one could have said it better.
Headley Lamar
December 2nd, 2010
11:27 am
Anyone comparing Athens an eclectic city with a rich culture to tobacoo spitting cow tipping Auburn has no idea what they are talking about.
chillahill43
December 2nd, 2010
11:27 am
and actually Im Beau’s Dad. Got any money you can loan me?
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:27 am
“I’ll resubscribe to your paper if you fire Jeff Schultz.”
Yeah, that’ll work.
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:28 am
“Who cares if they win it. They are Auburn. Its a dump.”
You obviously care because you are writing about it.
chillahill43
December 2nd, 2010
11:29 am
States B Regarding Headly Lamar- No one could say it better…
Maybe your right but it has been said at least 1000 times on the AJC blogs.. Originality ? None just like that UGA Offense…
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:29 am
“Anyone comparing Athens an eclectic city with a rich culture”
The only difference between the two is that UGA rednecks have MP3 players in their tractors.
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:30 am
“Now, the FBI is totally different.”
The FBI isn’t investigating Auburn.
UGA grad here
December 2nd, 2010
11:30 am
I still want AU to win the NC. When the FBI steps in with THEIR FINDINGS, then it will be all the more hillarious to see the entire AU family trying to hold on to their trophy. They will be the laughing stock of college football.
Chizk and his towel? Oh his face will be priceless when the school has to step in and deal with him and his thug recruiters in the FBI aftermath.
Go War Eagle ………..soar high, soar proudly.
Gene Cheesestick
December 2nd, 2010
11:30 am
Hey AU Fan …… lighten up Francis!
root4au
December 2nd, 2010
11:30 am
Megan…..NO..Is that clear enough..12-0..Has UGA ever gone 12-0 since the sec split? Heck, they can’t beat UF even when they are terrible..
StatesBurr
December 2nd, 2010
11:30 am
AU Fan: So what’s wrong with not wanting to die?
you must be getting tired now…that was terribly weak, you have to admit right chillahill43? Chill? Are you there?..keep up now…
AU Fan
December 2nd, 2010
11:31 am
“When the FBI steps in with THEIR FINDINGS”
You must have majored in astrology. Was Dionne Warwick your professor?
Nova Roars
December 2nd, 2010
11:31 am
This will provide some clear insite
December 2nd, 2010
11:24 am
AU family ………………….it is just beginning for yall. That I-85 race track thug and his all ready existing charges of $$$ political bribes is the tip of the iceberg for AU. The Bureau wants to know if money was offered from the shady world of gambling and um, ah, y’all know the rest of this story. Ugly it will get.
*******************
You can’t fix stupid.
jarvis
December 2nd, 2010
11:31 am
I still get the paper. Not this one though.