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
Huffdawg
December 10th, 2010
5:25 pm
“I’z dumb as crap! WOOF WOOF SIC EM DAWGAS! We’z goned win dus da natioanl champsip in 2008! woof woof
Aubarn is stoopid and be dum! UGA is smart and intlegent. WOOF WOOF.”
Now damn it! That’s funny, no one can dispute that! LOL
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:25 pm
I cash government checks, when I am not flinging my feces on AJC blogs.
UGA fans can't handle the truth
December 10th, 2010
5:26 pm
Facts about UGA:
1: They are 6-6.
2: They have had more players arrested than any team in college football.
3: They didn’t beat a good team this year.
4: UGA hired a child pornographer.
5: UGA’s AD got fired for raping a teenager.
HuffDawg Is Full Of Hot Air
December 10th, 2010
5:26 pm
I actually kind of agree with you here Huffdawg, most likely he had at least some idea of what his father was up to. It’s seems kind of hard to believe he couldn’t know, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility. I’m guessing we will know more when the investigation is concluded and all this gets sorted out. They can come back and take it away down the road, but NO ONE can deny what he did on the field this year. I’ve followed the game for a LOOOOONG time, and he is one of the best I have EVER seen PERIOD, that’s not hyperbole.
ronald
December 10th, 2010
5:28 pm
You have so twisted what is right and what is wrong. What Cameron’sfather did was horrible. Yes Ingram;s father is in prison but he did not try to sell his son.
Tell the truth
December 10th, 2010
5:29 pm
JABA!
Blog Security
December 10th, 2010
5:30 pm
HuffDAWG,
AU FAN is a Techie!!! Not a Aubarn fan. He is on here everyday posting under different names.Whe he gets angry and I call him out he starts posting garbage just like he has in the past 15 minutes.
Same story,different day.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:30 pm
“You have so twisted what is right and what is wrong.”
No, that one belongs to Barak Hussein Obama.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:30 pm
“AU FAN is a Techie!!! Not a Aubarn fan. ”
Prove it, ma’am.
Garden Gnome
December 10th, 2010
5:31 pm
So, paying the price is public humiliation? Good one Jeff.
Huffdawg
December 10th, 2010
5:31 pm
I agree HDIFOHA, he is awesome. He may be the best one season player I’ve ever seen in that this season for him has been like no other. I hope he does well in life, and I do NOT hate Auburn, not at all.
My family is from Alabama, I’ve always liked Auburn, but this whole thing stinks to high heaven. I don’t think the facts can be avoided and if it were my team, I’d be mad as hell that allegations this convincing were hanging over my program.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:32 pm
Great news for Auburn.
Offensive line prospect Greg Robinson verbally commits to Auburn Tigers
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/12/offensive_line_prospect_greg_r.html
HuffDawg Is Full Of Hot Air
December 10th, 2010
5:32 pm
Plus You have to PROVE that he knew. Just because some of us feel he may have known, that’s not enough honestly. Doesn’t matter what you or I think, it matters what we can PROVE! Let’s let all the facts emerge, and if it is not PROVEN that he knew , he should be cleared. The NCAA by-laws as they are written right now aren’t clear enough on parents of student-athletes soliciting benefits. Everyone has their opinion, but the rules are the rules. Prove he knew, then you have a case….
Huffdawg
December 10th, 2010
5:32 pm
Thanks blogsecurity, I enjoy his rantings just the same. LOL
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:32 pm
“I’d be mad as hell that allegations this convincing were hanging over my program.”
It’s over, Huff. Auburn will not go on probation and Cam is free and clear.
I’ll wave to you from Glendale.
Blog Security
December 10th, 2010
5:33 pm
AU FAN,
I mean Roswell Ed you are fooling anyone.You post in the same manner every time,with the same insults and references.You use Obama references all the time just like other insults.
You have been called out once again Techie boy!
1-9-It has a nice ring to it uh?
War Eagle!
December 10th, 2010
5:33 pm
AU FAN
The best news is he has no priors and he’s literate. WDE!
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:33 pm
Teach Me How To Lutzie
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPj68CApLlY&feature=player_embedded
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:35 pm
“I mean Roswell Ed you are fooling anyone.”
Are you a communist by chance?
“You use Obama references all the time just like other insults.”
I used one Obama insult, moron.
Blog Security
December 10th, 2010
5:35 pm
Gotta go bloggers,
See ya later Techie boy.
1-9
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:36 pm
“Gotta go bloggers,”
Yeah, those pizzas won’t deliver themselves.
Huffdawg
December 10th, 2010
5:36 pm
I agree we have to “prove it” what can we prove?
1) Cam Nweton is a liar, that has been proven.
2) We know his daddy solicited money… that can be proven
3) He suddenly went to Auburn.
4) In one interview he says his daddy decided he should go to Auburn, in the next he said he decided to go to Auburn. (we’ve already established he’s a liar)
5) He says he didn’t know his daddy was asking for money. You’re asking us to believe this when we “know for a fact” the above things said about Cam are true.
.
What????
December 10th, 2010
5:37 pm
ronald
December 10th, 2010
5:28 pm
You have so twisted what is right and what is wrong. What Cameron’sfather did was horrible. Yes Ingram;s father is in prison but he did not try to sell his son.
So It’s better to committ an armed robbery and assault somebody? Moral equivalence isn’t your strong suit LoL
all rightie then
December 10th, 2010
5:37 pm
HuffDawg Is Full Of Hot Air The sec rules are very clear about this issue. But Slive chose to ignore the rules. Slive is a slimeball and should be fired.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:37 pm
Huffdawg
Since you are so offended over Cam Newton, go make a citizens arrest.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:38 pm
How the NCAA’s Own Letter of the Law Clears the Auburn Tigers QB
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/516586-ncaa-regulations-reading-down-to-the-letters-for-the-newton-situation-clear
Delbert D.
December 10th, 2010
5:38 pm
Andrew Luck was a high school valedictorian and is an architectural design major at Stanford. That’s not a guarantee of “innate” integrity; there are no guarantees for anyone. Luck may be the 1st draft pick and go on to star in the NFL and go on to win awards for humanitarianism, ala Warrick Dunn. Or, who knows…
Billy Cannon of LSU won the Heisman in 1959 and the 1st pick for the NFL and the new AFL. After pro football, he went back to college and became an orthodontist. Later on, in 1983 he was heavily in debt and became a counterfeiter. He was imprisoned for 2 1/2 years and he was thrown out of the College Football Hall of Fame.
Is Billy Cannon lacking in “innate” integrity? After all, he is a convicted felon. But, since 1995 he has been the dentist for the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Some people overcome their mistakes in life and turn it around. Cannon frequently is present on stage for the Heisman Trophy presentation; you may have noticed him congratulating Mark Ingram last year.
If you try to predict the future you will be wrong on many counts.
Whatever
December 10th, 2010
5:42 pm
Every sportswriter in the South is going to say that Cam should win no matter what. The stuff with his dad aside, what about the other stuff? Does that constitute integrity to you? As for Warrick Dunn, he just needs to keep his mouth shut about Reggie Bush and other matters that he knows nothing about.
“The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity.”
“Besides the academic fraud, Newton was arrested in November 2008, after he bought a stolen laptop computer. He also had 12 traffic citations between July 2007 and November 2008, according to Alachua County Clerk of Court online records.”
http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2010/11/09/cam-newton-is-heisman-candidate-and-center-of-numerous-off-field/
Huffdawg
December 10th, 2010
5:44 pm
Delbert D, what he does in the future means nothing about what he’s done now.. we know the character of this man, up to this point he’s been a theif and a liar… let’s hope that changes, but the future isn’t what’s being voted on, we don’t know what he may do, he’s been scum up to now. that we know.
BobbyDawg
December 10th, 2010
5:46 pm
No hope for AU FAN. She’s definitly got her panties in a wad!
Must be Obama's magic or something
December 10th, 2010
5:46 pm
Our nation is financially struggling because of the US government making home mortgages too easy for anyone to get, even with bad credit and no job history. Folks with shady pasts were ENCOURAGED by our liberal government of Barney Frank, Pelosi and Chris Dodd to do these things at ANY COST and AU is doing the exact same thing to win at any cost. Newton DOES INDEED HAVE a very, very shady past and AU is sweeping it under their rug.
AU is about to win the NC and a AU kid the Heisman under the same dubious credentials. If this is what you AU fans want, go for it. Be proud, knowing that you all are as bad as the Obama government now and the sub prime mortgage scam .
Scam? Perfect same for (S)Cam Newton. Obama & Michelle would be very proud of you.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:47 pm
“he’s been scum up to now.”
I highly doubt Cam Newton cares what an obese inbreed thinks about him.
Nole 5050
December 10th, 2010
5:48 pm
What does Dunn have to do with this issue- does he have a dog in this one? Actually I am a huge fan but his comments are completely irrelevant and frankly I am distressed by his comments about both, especially Bush. If he pays the agent it all goes away. Say it ain’t so Warrick. He cheated plain and simple. The character witness treatment was a dud Jeff. Also you have forfeited any rights for future articles about player arrests both at Ga and any other schools.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:48 pm
“No hope for AU FAN. She’s definitly got her panties in a wad!”
Thanks for being yet another shining example of UGA stupidity. UGA fans can’t spell.
Also, UGA fans are known for wearing red panties.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:49 pm
“AU is about to win the NC and a AU kid the Heisman under the same dubious credentials. If this is what you AU fans want, go for it. Be proud, knowing that you all are as bad as the Obama government now and the sub prime mortgage scam .”
Cam is a capitalist, moron. Plus, Cam votes Republican.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:50 pm
“Obama & Michelle would be very proud of you.”
Auburn has about as much in common with Obozo as UGA has with beating UF.
Absolutely nothing.
SuperB
December 10th, 2010
5:51 pm
Comparing what Cecil Newton did to Ingram’s father being in prison is the nadir of journalism.
Huffdawg
December 10th, 2010
5:53 pm
I agree Nole, Dunn is one of the most classy men I’ve ever read about, he must simply be ignorant of the goings on with this cam situation… I feel bad for Auburn.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:54 pm
“Comparing what Cecil Newton did to Ingram’s father being in prison is the nadir of journalism.”
Mark Ingram’s dad is in prison for money laundering and bank fraud.
SuperB
December 10th, 2010
5:55 pm
The moron who blames Obama and the Dems for the mortgage crisis probably thinks Palin will be a good president. Well, she couldn’t be any worse than the guy who got us in this mess– George W. Bush. There are some ignorant people and you are one of them!
SuperB
December 10th, 2010
5:55 pm
AU: Mark Ingram’s Dad didn’t try to pimp his son.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:56 pm
“The moron who blames Obama and the Dems for the mortgage crisis probably thinks Palin will be a good president. ”
Yeah, Obama is doing such a great job! His 9.8% unemployment is just awesome!
Hey, where are all the shovel ready jobs he promised in 08?
“There are some ignorant people and you are one of them!”
No, that would be the idiots who voted for Obama.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:57 pm
“AU: Mark Ingram’s Dad didn’t try to pimp his son.”
No, he just laundered money from a big bank…….
Stupid much?
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
5:58 pm
SuperB
If Obama is so awesome, why did he call up Clinton to handle this?
Bill Clinton implores Democrats to back tax deal
Bill Clinton implores Democrats to back tax-cut deal in surprise appearance with Obama
WASHINGTON (AP) — Bill Clinton implored Democrats to back the tax-cut deal that President Barack Obama negotiated with Republicans as the former president made a surprise appearance with Obama in the White House briefing room Friday — and later took over the podium.
“I don’t believe there is a better deal out there,” Clinton told reporters who’d been summoned at a moment’s notice to see the former chief executive back the current one. Clinton and Obama had just finished a private meeting in the Oval Office.
Obama said it was a “terrific meeting” and then yielded to Clinton. The voluble former president took it away, and Obama left part-way through his remarks, saying he had holiday parties to attend. Clinton not only provided an economic tutorial but riffed on several topics, including the need for the Senate to ratify a U.S.-Russia nuclear treaty.
“Both sides are going to have to eat some things they don’t like,” Clinton told reporters about the tax deal. “We don’t want to slip back into a recession. We’ve got to keep this thing going and accelerate its pace. I think this is the best available option.”
DAWG
December 10th, 2010
6:00 pm
au fan….you are a sad boy. you need a life bad
One Of The More Ignorant Posts You Will Ever Read
December 10th, 2010
6:00 pm
Be proud, knowing that you all are as bad as the Obama government now and the sub prime mortgage scam .
Scam? Perfect same for (S)Cam Newton. Obama & Michelle would be very proud of you.
Didn’t the “sub-prime” mortgage scam occur during the Bush years? Might need to get the fact-checker out on that one, the sub-prime bubble burst before Obama even won the election. I think our nation is struggling financially because of 9/11, two wars, a huge prescription drug giveaway, a huge health care bill, and three rounds of tax cuts. Not a democrat here, just thought I would point out the stupidity of your rant…..
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
6:01 pm
DAWG……pot meet kettle.
tim
December 10th, 2010
6:01 pm
It’s too bad Cams PIMP DADDY doesn’t even have half the class Warrick Dunn.
That also goes for the lyincheatin PIMP DADDYS son.
AU FAN
December 10th, 2010
6:02 pm
One Of The More Ignorant Posts You Will Ever Read
Where are all the jobs Obama promised in 08?
BREAKING NEWS
December 10th, 2010
6:03 pm
FORMER FLORIDA FOOTBALL PLAYER BRANDON SPIKES SUSPENDED FROM THE PATRIOTS FOR USING STEROIDS.
WHAT WERE DAWG FANS SAYING ABOUT CAM NEWTON?