Cam Newton’s Heisman is a victory for fact over suspicions
Auburn's Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy by a wide margin, but 105 voters chose to leave him off their ballot. (AP photo)
(Updated: 9 p.m. Saturday)
The problem isn’t just that some turned Cam Newton’s Heisman run into a morality play. The problem is how we’re judging morality.
His father tried to pimp him to Mississippi State for cash. So is this was supposed to be a vote for Cecil “Huggy Bear” Newton? Is a Heisman vote suddenly not for the student-athlete but for his father, mother and maybe third cousin? Because if that’s true, clear the trophy case. Start with last year’s winner, Mark Ingram, whose father has been in jail for most of the last 10 years for money laundering and bank fraud.
Cam Newton purchased a stolen laptop when he was at Florida, then panicked and threw it out the window when he heard police footsteps. Big mistake, for which he paid a price (public humiliation).
There have been stories of him being on academic probation at Florida. Sorry, but does this put him in some exclusive company in major college athletics that I’m not aware of?
As someone who makes his living in the world of opinion, it nonetheless astounds me how opinion so often trumps fact today.
Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy Saturday night. Maybe you don’t like it but it was the only choice that made sense.
Newton’s 2,263 points were far head of the next closest competitor, Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck (1079). But 105 voters out of the 886 returned ballots left Newton off their ballots. For the holier-than-thou voters who want to point to the word “integrity” in the Heisman’s mission statement and yell, “Aha!” — fine. The laptop incident and academic issues at Florida two years ago at the age of 19 prove that Newton is flawed. Welcome to a very large club.
Warrick Dunn, here delivering a new home to Janice Cantrell, is a pretty fair judge of character. (AP photo)
Question: Do Heisman voters hold every candidate to that standard every year, or is this just a new policy of theirs?
But to those who chose not to vote for Newton for the Heisman based on what they think he knew or they think he did or they think he took during recruiting, I would suggest they try peddling that in a courtroom and see where it gets you.
“They’ve done their investigation and the NCAA says he’s in the clear right now,” Warrick Dunn said Friday. “If they say he’s eligible, he’s eligible. People need to just let it go. He deserves whatever he gets.”
Dunn, the former Falcons running back, didn’t win the Heisman when he was at Florida State (he finished fifth in 1996). But he’s in New York with Newton this weekend to accept the Heisman Humanitarian Award for his long-standing.
“Home for the Holidays” program and the work of his foundation.
Few athletes in history have commanded as much respect on and off the field. So his opinion carries some weight.
When asked about Newton as an Auburn quarterback, Dunn said: “He’s resilient. Mentally tough. To be able to focus and stay on course during all of this says something about his character. He’s been able to separate the nonsense off the field with what he has to do on the field. It shows he’s strong mentally.”
As for Newton’s Heisman candidacy, Dunn was bothered that it was even a question.
“They’re just not giving him his due,” he said. “You’re innocent until proven guilty. Most of this is about public opinion, not facts. People want the perfect student-athlete. There are no perfect student-athletes. When I went to college, most of us didn’t even know if we were breaking rules. What if somebody talked to us or gave us a ride or bought us a meal? We didn’t know. I think a lot of what’s happening to Cam Newton just goes back to the Reggie Bush thing [when he had the trophy taken away for NCAA violations].”
Newton overcame his early problems. He plays with pure joy. He lifted a college program like few ever have. He’s one bowl game away from completing arguably the greatest season ever by a college player. He has endured the darkest of clouds hanging over his head, beating Georgia just after the scandal broke, Alabama on the road after it mushroomed and then South Carolina in the SEC title game.
If evidence should come out that Newton knew something or took something, the argument changes. Take away the award. A lack of integrity will be confirmed.
It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s better than the alternative of disqualifying somebody on a hunch. We don’t convict people when we think they might be thinking of robbing a bank. That’s not enforcing morality. It’s a presumption of guilt.
– By Jeff Schultz
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681 comments Add your comment
joe
December 10th, 2010
4:28 pm
Nevermind the circumstantial evidence Jeff. He’s as guilty as hell and the SEC knows it. Its own by-laws state he should have been ruled ineligible and never allowed to play again in the SEC (because of what his father did) – nevermind the NCAA. AU fans should enjoy all of this because it’s all going to be taken back. Meanwhile, the SEC and its member instituions reap the financial rewards of AU playing in the NC game – it’s all about the $$$$$$.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:28 pm
“and every time Auburn wins, trouble soon appears.”
Yeah, trouble appears for loser teams like UGAY who can’t beat a winning team. LOL
\
“enjoy it while you can AU FAN.”
I’ll wave to you from Glendale, loser.
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:28 pm
Cam said the money was too good at Auburn…his statement…now, he doesn’t know about the money?
that’s funny right there.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:29 pm
joe,
Do you need a diaper change?
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:29 pm
“Cam said the money was too good at Auburn…his statement”
So……where is the statement, troglodyte?
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:29 pm
give cecil a dollar for me…oh yeah, he’s banned from being around the program…how can you be banned and innocent in the same sentence?
Coachdawg 2000
December 10th, 2010
4:30 pm
Sgt.Schultz,
Suddenly this is just a hapless kid making young mistakes? what happened to all of the program out of control opinions you expressed all summer and early fall? Suddenly, it’s “I know nothing,I see nothing?” This is bad kid who is incredibly athletically talented. He will be broke by 30 becuase his moral compass is broken. But at least Cecil can get his new reality show pimp-my-son.
gt4ever
December 10th, 2010
4:30 pm
Jeez, AU fans may be as challenged as UGA fans….. Thanks for the history Cam-tastic….
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:31 pm
“how can you be banned and innocent in the same sentence?”
You have the IQ of a carrot.
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:31 pm
Google this…”the Money was just too good” at Auburn”
977 results
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:31 pm
Coachdawg 2000
Did you help post bond money for the UGA football team this year?
gdawginkalamazoo
December 10th, 2010
4:32 pm
AU FAN “So who did Cam kill, troglodyte?” We don’t know but if he is taking advice from Warrick Dunn then he will be okay if he buries the body deep enough.
John
December 10th, 2010
4:32 pm
Tell the truth – You are exactly correct – one more than UGA, and same number as OU and Minnesota. The last major violation occurred in 1991 – earlier than the most recent UGA violation in 1995. 3 of those violations for Auburn were directly attributable to the football program.
Oh – and before you jump on to the ‘rule-breakers are rule-breakers’ bandwagon too quickly, Auburn, Alabama etc can’t begin to compete with the UGA-Jim Harrick era..
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:32 pm
“Google this…”the Money was just too good” at Auburn”
No, dumb @ss, I asked you to post the exact comment from Cam.
Oh, what’s that? That’s right, there isn’t any evidence that Cam ever said that.
Nate the Great
December 10th, 2010
4:32 pm
AU FAN: Auburn has been on probation twice in the last thirty years also. Don’t leave out all the facts!! The 2nd heisman will be given back!! You will also be the only team from the SEC to go undefeated and not win the NC, after they strip this one. You will have accomplished that 3 times in the last 20 years. Man it MUST be great to be and Auburn Tiger!!!!
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:33 pm
no problem gt4ever…if you want more recent history, look at the last 10 years loser.
is Reuben Houston still running from the U.S. Marshalls?
Cinaed
December 10th, 2010
4:33 pm
Warnings from reporters and professional athletes about how concerns about Newton won’t pass muster in a court of law and how the NCAA has declared him eligible despite its concerns is a fallacious argument. This is not a court of law, and a declaration of non evidence is not a declaration of innocence. Where there is smoke there is fire is a way of saying there is a lot of circumstantial evidence, and that applies to this case. Newton should become friends with Reggie Bush. He will need to know how Bush coped with the public humiliation involved with giving the Heisman Trophy back.
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:34 pm
no evidence! deny everything! demand some proof!
war cam eagle!
woo woo!
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:34 pm
“Auburn has been on probation twice in the last thirty years also.”
1993 is the only year the NCAA put Auburn on probation.
“The 2nd heisman will be given back!!”
Keep on hopin and dreamin.
“ou will also be the only team from the SEC to go undefeated and not win the NC”
Like I said, keep on hopin and wishin.
Coachdawg 2000
December 10th, 2010
4:34 pm
Your father must’ve offered the AJC megabucks to employ you. Your opinions are worse than garbage. You absolutely crucified Mark Richt but suddnely you are the “let’s forgive a 19 year old’s mistakes”. So academic fraud and obstruction of justice are minor mistakes but unpaid traffic tickets are capital offenses? You lower the IQ in Atlanta everytime you show up to work.
gdawginkalamazoo
December 10th, 2010
4:35 pm
I think Cam is actually asking Drew Butler for his autograph in that picture.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:35 pm
“no evidence! deny everything! demand some proof!”
Uh, moron, that’s how the US Justice System works. Ever heard of innocent until proven guilty?
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:36 pm
“Your father must’ve offered the AJC megabucks to employ you.”
Gotta love UGAY fans with low IQ’s.
Coachdawg 2000 , did you take one too many jock straps to the head?
“You lower the IQ in Atlanta everytime you show up to work.”
No, that would be UGA fans.
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:36 pm
cam to drew…”spell cam for me again?”
drew said, “it’s C…A…M…thanks Cam.”
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:37 pm
the evidence is there…cecil pimpled his son…but the ncaa and sec doesn’t care because there’s too much $$$$$ on the line.
1eyedJack
December 10th, 2010
4:37 pm
Plausable deniability.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:38 pm
“I think Cam is actually asking Drew Butler”
Who’s Drew Butler? (sarcasm)
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:38 pm
“cecil pimpled his son”
Maybe Cam should ask for a Dermatologist.
Coachdawg 2000
December 10th, 2010
4:39 pm
AU Fan-
Accept the fact that you will forever be “the other school” in Alabama. Just to help you since you probably couldn’t do the math on your own. Alabama 13-Allbarn 1(two if yall find a way to beat the ducks).
Nate the Great
December 10th, 2010
4:39 pm
AU Fan: I wish they wouldn’t do it because I always have a blast with Auburn fans, but he is guilty as home-made sin. You know it and the NCAA will find something, even if its not money. They investigaed AJ for a party in Miami and left with a jersey. Y’all will be stripped of any hardware and then given a stiff penalty. Unfortunate fact of the NCAA beast, they make their money and make an example of anyone who perpetrates an infraction.
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:39 pm
hey drew, can you write down your email address? i may need to buy one of your papers for my class in a couple of weeks. i’ve got plenty of money to pay for it. also, do you know where i can steal a good laptop?
John
December 10th, 2010
4:39 pm
Camtastic – I’m fairly certain Auburn fans would happily take the last 5-6 years of AU football over the last 5-6 of UGA football.
Huffdawg
December 10th, 2010
4:40 pm
AU Fan.. I appreciate how hard you defend you team, it won’t save you. We know Cam is a liar, that a proven fact. Read the police report about when he stole that laptop. He’s a liar!
I bet you squirm each and everyday since this all came out, you know where this is headed… I’d attack too if I were in your shoes, its all you have left.
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:41 pm
john, what has auburn done in the last 5-6 years?
won a few chick-fil-a bowl games?
gdawginkalamazoo
December 10th, 2010
4:41 pm
Mr College Football, it would be a great piece to write about the big boosters behind these two programs, their histories and what they have done for each school.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:42 pm
“Accept the fact that you will forever be “the other school” in Alabama. ”
That “other school” owns UGAY, crotchdawg.
Oh, and GT has more national titles than UGAY so I guess your school is that other school in GA.
LOL
“Just to help you since you probably couldn’t do the math on your own.”
That’s a funny assumption coming from a guy who can’t spell.
Tell the truth
December 10th, 2010
4:42 pm
JABA JABA JABA
GA Eagle
December 10th, 2010
4:42 pm
C’mon Nate… you can do better than that can’t you?
Simple question for your simple mind. Are you familiar with the Albert Means case?
queen dan
December 10th, 2010
4:42 pm
he who has not sinned may cast the first pigskin…
Dawg_Mike
December 10th, 2010
4:43 pm
Great interview Cam. As Jim Rome said, it doesn’t count as an interview if you don’t actually DO the interview. Never has anyone looked so good, sounded so good and said so little.
The only thing missing was the Eldrick Woods “That’s private”….
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:43 pm
my dad pimped me, but i didn’t know about it…i didn’t steal the laptop that i tossed out of my dorm room. i didn’t cheat multiple times at Florida. they weren’t going to throw me out. i just wanted to leave Florida before Urban had a meltdown.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:44 pm
“I appreciate how hard you defend you team, it won’t save you. We know Cam is a liar, that a proven fact. Read the police report about when he stole that laptop. He’s a liar! ”
Oh no, a UGAY fan says that I can’t be saved! LOL
By the way, did you bail out all 11 players at UGA? You know, since your 6-6 team had more players arrested than ANY SCHOOL IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
“I bet you squirm each and everyday since this all came out,”
Not nearly as much as your parents did when you came out of the closet.
Jeff G
December 10th, 2010
4:44 pm
Who was that sourpuss douchbag TV analyst who, after the SEC Championship, sat there with this dour look on his face suggesting that Cam shouldn’t have been playing in that game?
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:44 pm
“my dad pimped me”
Your butt must be sore.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:45 pm
“Who was that sourpuss douchbag TV analyst who”
Jesse Palmer.
Tell the truth
December 10th, 2010
4:45 pm
AU FAN NCAA put Auburn on probation 6 times!!!
meh
December 10th, 2010
4:45 pm
if the NCAA wasn’t so crooked and bass ackwards maybe people would take their “investigation” more seriously. I don’t believe for one minute that Cam didn’t know what his father was doing.
Cam-tastic
December 10th, 2010
4:46 pm
AU FAN…so we had a few scooter violations and speeding tickets…of which the CBS announcers are fascinated with…why does vern care so much about an unpaid speeding ticket?
next week, rainey was suspended for an “out the field incident.”
cecil pimps his son, but all we hear about is how great a person Cammie is.
puke
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
4:46 pm
“NCAA put Auburn on probation 6 times!!!”
The last time NCAA put Auburn on probation was in 1992.
Nate the Great
December 10th, 2010
4:47 pm
John: No we wouldn’t. They had a losing record in 2008 and we have a better overall record in those 5 years. We have a 4-1 record against them the last five years and they won’t have anything to show for this year in two more years. So, we UGA fans are very, very content not having Auburn’s last 5 seasons.