The Cam Newton Saga: Even by SEC standards, it’s bizarre
There’s no tempest like an SEC tempest, the scope of which can be breathtaking. Only in this conference could Alabama’s signing of a lineman from Memphis lead to Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer being served with a subpoena at the league’s Media Days. Only here could a night out in Pensacola, Fla., lead to Mike Price being fired by Alabama before coaching a game. Only the SEC could spawn the feel-good-gone-bad tale of Cameron Jerrell Newton.
He’s a quarterback from College Park who played at Westlake High. He signed with Florida, where he served as understudy for the sainted Tim Tebow. Newton left to attend a junior college in Texas, where he played for Brad Franchione, whose father Dennis used to coach Alabama and whose abrupt departure for Texas A&M led the Tide to hire, albeit briefly, Mike Price. (Nobody does connections like the SEC.)
Newton wound up enrolling at Auburn, where he’s considered the leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. His team ranks second in both the Associated Press poll and the BCS standings and can clinch the SEC West by beating Georgia on Saturday. All of this is, however, subject to change.
Last week ESPN and the New York Times reported that former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond had been informed it would cost $180,000 for Newton to commit to MSU. (This John Bond, not to be confused with Georgia State offensive coordinator John Bond, was the quarterback at Valdosta High after Buck Belue and John Lastinger, both of whom went on to greater glory at Georgia. At MSU, the Valdosta product was known as “One-Hop Bond” for his aerial accuracy.)
Bond has dropped from sight — the celebrity Web site TMZ reports that the FBI wishes to speak with him — but not before granting an on-air audience to Belue, his fellow Valdosta alum, on 680 The Fan in which he undercut his own story by suggesting he hadn’t spoken with the intermediary named in the initial reports. (To which we say: Huh?)
Auburn was quick to assert that Newton was fully eligible to play for the Tigers, whom he led to a 62-24 victory over Chattanooga last weekend. Afterward he told reporters: “When God be blessin’, the devil be messin’.” (Newton’s father Cecil is the pastor of the Holy Zion Center of Deliverance in Newnan, which, as the New York Times helpfully informed us, has only recently been restored to city building codes.)
We pause here for breath, for our tangled tale has only begun. This week FoxSports.com reported Newton had been accused of cheating while at Florida. (While a student in Gainesville, Newton was also charged with three felony counts involving a stolen laptop that was subsequently tossed out a window. The charges were dropped after he underwent pretrial diversion.)
This cheating revelation, attributed to an unnamed source, immediately led Florida coach Urban Meyer to issue a statement saying nobody connected with the Gators had done the leaking. On cue, Auburn coach Gene Chizik dismissed all allegations as “pure garbage” and wondered, in what seemed a clear reference to Meyer and Dan Mullen, the former Florida assistant who’s now head coach at Mississippi State: “Is there a wizard behind the curtain? Is there one? Is there two?”
In all of this, the overarching question has been: If it was going to take $180,000 for Newton to play for Mississippi State, did he really enroll at Auburn for free? On Tuesday ESPN became the first outlet to address that issue, reporting that two unnamed Mississippi State recruiters were informed in separate phone conversations with Cam and Cecil Newton that the player’s services were indeed for sale.
One recruiter, according to ESPN, maintained the elder Newton said it would take “more than a scholarship” to land his son. Another source said Cam Newton expressed regret after his father chose Auburn for him, saying, “The money was too much.”
And that’s where we are, our story nowhere near its conclusion. If Auburn has reason to believe there’s a chance Newton’s recruitment wasn’t aboveboard, will it bench him for the Georgia game and risk losing the division title it’s so close to winning? (Chizik asserted on a teleconference Wednesday that Newton would start against the Bulldogs.) Does the SEC, shuddering over the possibility of its championship game matching Auburn and Chizik against Florida and Meyer, intercede? Does the NCAA? The FBI?
And what of Georgia, which needs one victory in its final two games to become bowl-eligible? Could the underwhelming Bulldogs face Georgia Tech without quarterback Joshua Nesbitt, who broke his arm against Virginia Tech, and Auburn without Newton? If so, wouldn’t that make Mark Richt the luckiest man alive?
And what of us? What does it say when we pay so much attention to games purportedly played by amateurs after being reminded so often that college football is as pure as the driven sludge? Does that make us hypocrites? Or merely fools?
Feel free to answer, but I’m not sure I want to know.
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519 comments Add your comment
Dawg86
November 10th, 2010
8:58 pm
Obvious – good point although painful to acknowledge.
Ole Yeller Dawg
November 10th, 2010
9:00 pm
Obvious: What about having the 2009 Broyles Award winner given to the nations best defensive assistant coach (Kirby Smart) coaching our running backs in 2005?
Whopper Dawg
November 10th, 2010
9:02 pm
If there is that much smoke, there is a fire somewhere, Auburn better be real careful.
wildbill
November 10th, 2010
9:04 pm
Sounds like a soap opera to me. Good guys, bad guys, who can tell the difference? Well, it sells tickets and is coffee shop fodder. Good for betting too. LOTS of bets. I still believe the dawgs will have a downer by at least 30 points.
Why I hate college football
November 10th, 2010
9:08 pm
This will be easy for the Fibbies to get to the bottom of. They will look at the old man’s bank accounts and if $200, 000 appears out of nowhere, case closed.
Ole Yeller Dawg
November 10th, 2010
9:21 pm
Why I hate college football: Ever heard of a safety deposit box? Cash is easy to hide, I have a safe in the concrete floor of my garage!
Ole Smoky
November 10th, 2010
9:23 pm
Excellent article !
LakeDawg
November 10th, 2010
9:24 pm
When even ONE person stands up and makes allegations on the record, I will pay attention to this story. Until then, this situation is just one more example of how the press has lost all of their ethics. BTW This is not a shot at you Mark. You’re just reporting on all of the shenanigans.
Why I hate college football
November 10th, 2010
10:02 pm
Ole yellar, What good is it if you can’t spend it? Ever see the show about how they caught the Loomis Armored car thieves just watched their bank accounts and spending habits. Unemployed people made monthly cash deposits to their checking accounts. Debts were suddenly paid off. Cars were bought. And they can audit the Auburn athletic department. Spending $200,000 is hard to hide.
Obvious
November 10th, 2010
10:07 pm
Ole Yeller Dawg – Great point! Everyone talked about getting Kirby Smart back to UGA when we needed a defensive coordinator, but he was actually our running backs coach in 2005! All of his other stops (Valdosta, LSU, Dolphins) were on the defensive side of the ball. Obviously we were the only program that didn’t know how best to utilize him and now he’s with Satan as a DC and Assistant Coach! So, we not only squander player talent we also squander coaching talent!
5150 P.O.A.D
November 10th, 2010
10:08 pm
How will Stafford make it to the NFL HoF from a hospital bed or while holding a clipboard like every other UGA QB since 1970?
bigskydawg
November 10th, 2010
10:11 pm
The Reverand “Clam” Newton will not deny the allegations. He did
admit that he wouldn’t send Cam to Miss State because “he would be just a
rented mule.” What does that say? True or not, like Cam says; “it really
doesn’t affect me”. In 6 months he is bolting to the NFL. The money Auburn paid
will be chump change compared to a pro contract and the endorsement money that
is sure to follow. Mark this down, as soon as the BCS games are over he is gone.
You can bet, AJ Green is not the only SEC player getting his agent money laundered
through ebay or church tithes. It is time the hypocrisy stops and let these men
go directly to the NFL anytime they want.
Watch Barry Switzer in “The Best That Never Was” and see how he mirrors Gene
Cizik. The parallels are scary, they even look alike. See how “family friend” Reverend Fairley used Dupree for his financial gains. If Dupree would have stayed at Oklahoma, no one, (not even the
fabulous Adrian Peterson or Herschel Walker) would ever come close to the NCAA
records he would have set.
Why I hate college football
November 10th, 2010
10:14 pm
Maybe this will be the case that exposes college athletics for what it is. Crooked as a dogs hind leg. Billions of dollars are involved, with apparently pretty slip-shod accountability. I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if it is revealed that the NCAA is deeply involved in kickbacks and money laundering. Do I have any evidence? No, but you got a bunch of ex-jocks involved in the transfer of billions of dollars of money, with millions of pairs of blind-eyed college football fanatics that live vicariously through whether or not the old alma-mater wins on Saturday. With what we witness going on with Wall Street and Washington, would one expect that those involved with college athletics are more moral than those jokers. Follow the money, baby. Follow the money.
Bo
November 10th, 2010
10:23 pm
Why all the BS over Cam and nothing on Bishop Long?
Why I hate college football
November 10th, 2010
10:25 pm
The NFL and NBA should step up and fix this mess by establishing minor league systems like baseball has. It would decimated college athletics and that would be a great thing. You could still have the great tradition of college football. But coaches would be educators and trainers and college ready kids would get scholarships so they could go to college for careers other than physical education.
RaulTide
November 10th, 2010
10:36 pm
Everyone knows two wealthy Auburn boosters control that program and they both have money coming out of their ears.
St. Richt
November 10th, 2010
10:36 pm
For any of you “innocent until proven guilty” morons on this blog, he hasn’t denied any of this. And this isn’t smoke, its starting to burn into fire. Listen closely to the responses of Cam and his dad- they’re not doing much in my opinion to discredit these claims. All they do is express outrage and then duck all subsequent questions. I would imagine they would be a little more forthcoming with information if there was nothing to hide- wouldn’t you??
Auburn fans- enjoy it while you can. This may top the USC fiasco before its all said and done. I’m still waiting on an outright denial from anyone in the Newton family. And by the way, AJC, where the heck is the investigative reporting on the church improvements. Find the money trail and follow it to wherever it leads.. You guys suck.
St. Richt
November 10th, 2010
10:38 pm
Gene Jism is going to be out of a job, too, by the time this is over. He shouldn’t get that much credit anyway for this team- we all know its a one trick pony with Cam Newton. Without him Auburn would be doo doo.
St. Richt
November 10th, 2010
10:40 pm
Scam Newton for Heist-man!! If he doesn’t win it he’ll steal it! Auburn fans- you must be so proud.
The Ole Ball Coach
November 10th, 2010
10:41 pm
Cam Newton – Alachua County Florida ticket / arrest record.
He was a very busy young man…. Think Meyer may have had a problem?
04/25/07 – Improper Tag, paid $ 104.50 on 07/19/07.
05/07/07 – Run a red light, paid $ 200.50 on 06/12/07.
06/05/07 – Speeding, paid $ 123.50 on 06/26/07.
06/13/07 – Failure to obey traffic control, paid $123.50 on 06/26/07
07/09/07 – Passing in no pass zone, paid $ 135.50 on 11/15/07
07/19/07 – No License on person, paid $ 88.50 on 11/15/07 mailed in by Dad
08/06/07 – Ran Red Light, paid $ 209.50 on 08/26/09 by mail
12/10/07 – Failure to obey traffic control, Paid $ 138.50 on 04/07/08
07/24/08 – Speeding, Paid $ 163.00 on 09/23/08
07/28/08 – License not on person, paid $ 97.50 on 12/04/08
08/27/08 – Speeding – Paid $ 253.00 by mail on 01/23/09
11/07/08 – Driving with License revoked – owes $ 150.50 – continuance
11/21/08 – Three (3) Felonies Pre-Courty Entry of No lo on 12/17/09
paid $ 1.00
A. Burglery ? entry XXXX
B. Theft ? entry XXXX
C. Obstruction (Intimidating Witness)? entry XXXX
Also consider he had 3 academic cheating charges at The Florida University
as well… What was Meyer thinking?
St. Richt
November 10th, 2010
10:44 pm
How much do you think Urban Meyer paid him to come to Florida the first time around? Is anybody investigating that??
St. Richt
November 10th, 2010
10:45 pm
I’m sure Cam waited tables while at Florida to pay for all of those speeding tickets! Uh-huh.
Cam Saga
November 10th, 2010
10:49 pm
I like Straight Jackets comments, the SEC needs to just ahead and be the NFL minor leagues, it is what it is
Cheaters never win
November 10th, 2010
11:04 pm
They need to conduct this investigation quickly and IF there is fire where behind all the smoke, then AwBarn needs to vacate all their wins this season before we get to the bowl season and the national title game. They also should not be allowed to play in the SEC championship game.
This is not an SEC problem. This is college football program. The SEC just draws more attention because SEC football is absolutely the best in the county.
Jake
November 10th, 2010
11:25 pm
Good stuff, Mark. Don’t let the knucklel-draggers bum you out.
Jake
November 10th, 2010
11:25 pm
Make that “knuckle-draggers”….
GatorBait
November 10th, 2010
11:35 pm
I say Cam and the gang should make a movie out of the deal!! Call it, “Who Cam You believe?”
col foot
November 11th, 2010
12:01 am
when the truth comes out on this, a lot of the Aubrin heads are going to roll…and should, academic fraud, bidding for services, traffic violations ignored and on and on. The NCAA should camp out at Aubrin for a few weeks.
Gravy Train
November 11th, 2010
12:02 am
Buckeye better not try to kick us when we down. Don’t want none of the SEC. O for Forever! Ask Herbie why he hate on UGA so much. Ask him if he remembers Mitch Davis and the Citrus Bowl. Ask him if he remembers the best QB that day. Eric Zeier. Garrison Hearst ran wild.
Go on back to your carpet bag and savor paper championships with leather helmets. The SEC owns you and your sweater vested also ran. Football is a way of life here, son.
Sorry state of affairs for the character element of Auburn’s football program. It appears to have left the campus with Tubbs. Jet plane flyin’ limousine ridin’ Gene is wheelin’ and dealin.’ Don’t look now, but so is Cam and Papa Newton.
P. Bull Terrier
November 11th, 2010
12:53 am
If the sources of these stories are all lying and Cam is innocent, they deserve to spend a week tied to a pole on Toomer’s Corner in Auburn. The only problem is, the number of different sources just keeps growing and it’s getting harder to believe that the whole story is just a fabrication. If it turns out that Auburn actually did pay the Newtons, and they kept playing Cam even after the story started to become public knowledge, the NCAA hammer is going to fall hard and the pain is going to last a long time. For the good of SEC football, I sure hope there’s no truth to the rumors.
Famous Quotes
November 11th, 2010
2:28 am
“I didn’t do anything wrong” – Cam “Laptop” Newton
“This is MY house” – Deon Sanders
“I did not have sex with that woman” – Bill Clinton
“It was just a car wreck” – Tiger Woods
“I’m retiring” – Urban Meyer
“I’m retiring” – Brett Farve
“I’m your coach” – Bobby Pig-Sooey Patrino to Mr. Blank
“Michael Vick is a falcon for life” – Mr. Blank
“You don’t know who he is – he has the power to beat this” – Damon Evan’s girlfriend
“We just shared a hotel room” – Bishop Eddie Long
“We are on track to keep the House” – Nancy Pelosi
And the beat goes on and on and on!!
RJ
November 11th, 2010
3:27 am
>>Only the SEC could spawn the feel-good-gone-bad tale of Cameron Jerrell Newton.<<
Ever heard of Reggie Bush?
Oh, wait — I forget you make your living slamming UGA. Guess that hatred has now spread to the entire conference.
You're a joke — a bad one!
» SEC: Pelphrey signs impressive class at Arkansas John Clay’s Sidelines
November 11th, 2010
6:43 am
[...] Even by SEC standards, the Cameron Newton saga is bizarre, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC. [...]
GR82BAG8R
November 11th, 2010
6:57 am
In the midst of all this, Georgia beats Auburn Saturday.
We all know it’s going to happen.
It just makes sense.
GR82BAG8R
November 11th, 2010
7:00 am
Georgia then proceeds to beat Tech and win their bowl game.
Richt is redeemed and the Georgia fans forgive him for his 5 losses.
There’s a lot of hope and anticipation for next year.
He loses again next year to Florida….
Dodging a (poorly thrown) bullet « Get The Picture
November 11th, 2010
7:10 am
[...] of the funnier things Mark Bradley has written: … And what of Georgia, which needs one victory in its final two games to become [...]
bdawg
November 11th, 2010
7:11 am
Hey Buckeye,
What’s Ohio State’s record against the SEC?
Oh yeah, it’s 0-9.
Because Kent State doesn’t prepare you for real football. Suck an egg.
Best of the Blogs | MrSEC.com
November 11th, 2010
7:20 am
[...] Even by SEC standards, the Cameron Newton saga is bizarre, writes Mark Bradley of the AJC. [...]
Corny Hull
November 11th, 2010
7:22 am
Isn’t it interesting that John Bond said he never talked to any intermediary…the place where this fantasy all started. Some of the people writing in have kids and can surely identify with paying their kids’ traffic violations… oops, maybe their kids were perfect growing up just like their parents. Get a life!!
Tom, Resident Georgia Fan
November 11th, 2010
7:26 am
Buckeye Suckeye when you beat an SEC team we’ll listen to you. Until then shut the hell up.
Rufus
November 11th, 2010
7:34 am
“Student athletes?” Give me a break! That’s like saying “jumbo shrimp” or “military intelligence.” If we really wanted student athletes, we’d demand that anybody signed to a sports scholarship would have to max the SATs.
steve skelton
November 11th, 2010
7:40 am
So many different stories. Lots of speculation. As for the 2 phone calls apparantly this was never told to the SEC. The following was just taken from an article this morning on Rivals.com
‘
‘The statement said Mississippi State has “cooperated fully” with NCAA investigators, but did not make any reference to the alleged phone calls between recruiters and the Newtons.
SEC spokesman Charles Bloom said Wednesday evening that there was also no mention of the reported conversations in either of the school’s reports to the league.’
big hoss
November 11th, 2010
7:49 am
Being on SSI every year when the Dawgs roll into town full of hope that this will be the year that they finally get the Gators and then watching them haul ass out on Sunday like a bunch of hermit crabs is one of life’s great joys for me. If they didn’t beat them this year with the offensive line they have, it will be at least a decade before it happens. So redneck Dawg fans Hunker down and suck it up. Suck, suck, suck, suck, it up-the biggest redneck fans in the country. By the way, K-mart and Walmart have tons of cheap dawg stuff. Just suck it up. No bowl game this year. You bunch of redneck losers.
hadog
November 11th, 2010
7:51 am
Please interview that BIG MONEY alumni from Auburn that is always causing trouble over there.
LKK
November 11th, 2010
8:09 am
I guess Big Boss is upset because he won’t be able to make his trailer payment this month. What a tool!
Jay in VA
November 11th, 2010
8:16 am
Mark Richt is hardly “the luckiest man alive”, at least within the confines of his work life. His teams have consistently suffered key injuries and crushing penalties (some earned, some ridiculous) at crucial times. That was a silly line.
OkefenokeeDawg
November 11th, 2010
8:18 am
Dang . . .
http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/report-auburn-qb-and-father-sought-money-from-colleges-110910
The Camroninator
November 11th, 2010
8:21 am
Were there’s smoke there’s fire. The Camroninator is going to ruin someone’s program in the SEC. I hope whichever program that is does not think it was worth it
OkefenokeeDawg
November 11th, 2010
8:33 am
Maybe Auburn didn’t pay Cam. But they did, it’s not like it’s the first time . . .
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?id=1617337
OkefenokeeDawg
November 11th, 2010
8:33 am
…if they did…