It’s a new day, but the same story. Or, more precisely, the same story with a new twist. Joe Schad of ESPN.com is reporting that two sources who recruit for Mississippi State claim that Cam Newton, the Auburn quarterback who’s from College Park, and his father Cecil “admitted in separate phone conversations to a pay-for-play plan while Newton was being recruited late last year.”
More ominously for Auburn, Schad reports that Cam Newton called another recruiter to express regret, saying his father had chosen Auburn for him because “the money was too much.”
A tempest has raged around Newton the past week, beginning with ESPN’s original report that the former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond claimed he had been told it would take $180,000 for the player to enroll at MSU. A subsequent report by FoxSports.com contended that Newton had faced charges of cheating while at Florida, prompting angry responses from both Auburn athletic director Jay Jacobs and coach Gene Chizik and, in a bizarre twist, a denial from Florida coach Urban Meyer that he had been FoxSports’ source.
But this latest report from ESPN marks the first time the Newtons, father and son, have been linked — even if the link comes via second-hand unnamed sources — to any recruiting malfeasance, and it’s also the first time it has been suggested — even if the suggestion was apparently made by Cam Newton himself — that the family might have received money from Auburn.
And this could change everything. Auburn’s stance to date has been that Newton is eligible to play for the Tigers, but a school cannot allow a player to continue to represent it if his eligibility is at issue. To date it hasn’t been. (The Bond allegations pertained to Mississippi State, not Auburn.) But now it is.
And Auburn, which is ranked No. 2 in both the Associated Press poll and the BCS standings, plays Georgia on Saturday. You’d be well advised to stay tuned.
Still more Cam! Even by SEC standards, this latest tempest is mind-boggling.
387 comments Add your comment
College student
November 10th, 2010
10:21 am
BamaDad
November 10th, 2010
10:11 am
Here’s that link to the Florida County’s criminal justice site:
https://www.alachuaclerk.org/court_records/gis/index.cfm?section=results
just type in Cameron Newton’s name and the list of his transgressions will be revealed.
Who cares about running red lights, not carrying a DL, suspended DL, speeding and not obeying traffic lights? Answer is NOBODY.
JB
November 10th, 2010
10:21 am
It’s sad that the Auburn president would not get knee deep in this today, fearing the wrath of the Auburn people for screwing up a miracle season verses holding up the integrity of the University. He ought to meet with staff, hear them out, and have a press conference that these coach’s have given him assurances, based on their jobs at Auburn, and future jobs in NCAA football, that all is above board.
SmyrnaMan
November 10th, 2010
10:22 am
Mark, Do you have a Heisman vote? If so, he is unvoteable b/c the Heisman is Awarded for: “The outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity” Do you read that Barn Fans? WITH INTEGRITY! Not “Oh he is the best CFP, so he gets my vote”
Summit Dawg
November 10th, 2010
10:22 am
Hope all this isn’t true! But, where there’s smoke…….!! After all, didn’t his father come up with a lot
of $ to remodel his CHURCH?????????
Bo
November 10th, 2010
10:22 am
@10:16 The answer is Proof…da
john
November 10th, 2010
10:23 am
Auburn has been caught paying for Cam Newton, and it’s ON TAPE
Auburn has LOST every game this year
Auburn is NOT going to a Bowl
Auburn does NOT have a Heisman Canidate
Auburn WONT be going to a bowl for 3 years
Auburn WONT recover for a DECADE when all is said and Done
SimpleDawg
November 10th, 2010
10:23 am
If anyone thinks that the Barners are going to hold Cam out of any games, then you’re not paying attention. This year is Auburn’s best chance for a big splash and maybe a National Championship. Nothing has been proven….plenty of allegations, but no sworn statements, no cancelled checks, no “smoking gun”….yet.
The Chizzler is “whistling through the graveyard” right now. If these allegations are proven to be true, ol’ Gene will deny any knowledge of these events and denounce all who are guilty. Hopefully he has no complicity in any of the pay-for-play dealings…….
Hopefully none of this is true, but the more the Newtons speak, the less credulous they appear.
The cheating scandal is probably true or someone would have been served papers already, but that has nothing to do with his eligibility at Auburn – it just further sullies his credibility.
It is probably going to get worse for Auburn before it gets better.
The "Camburglar" is in trouble dudes
November 10th, 2010
10:23 am
Nice job thug… way to ruin the barns ONE chance to matter in football.
RIP Allbarn football
Sanford Drive
November 10th, 2010
10:24 am
College Student…..
apparently EVERY ajc “journalist” as well as every Dawg hater in the world thinks traffic violations are the most thugish activity on earth when it happens toa UGA footballer.
john
November 10th, 2010
10:25 am
LMAO Simple Dog
Auburn wont be allowed to play ANY Bowl games this year
Do you have any clue how bad this just became?
HAHAHAHA At the Auburn fan thinking they still have something to play for this year!!!!!
Hankie Aron
November 10th, 2010
10:25 am
Mark,
I was still thinking this was all just hearsay and much ado about mostly nothing yesterday, but today with this information there looks to be some validity in these claims and Auburn and Cam look like they have some questions to answer
Bo
November 10th, 2010
10:26 am
Summit Dawg…read page 2….no money to church..its empty, no repairs and going to waste….just another rumor.
"the money was just too much"
November 10th, 2010
10:26 am
College Kid – it’s more evidence proving this punk has a track record of bad behavior.
Go back to bed, sleep in.
Sanford Drive
November 10th, 2010
10:26 am
After all is brought to light, ill be curious as tohow many Aubrun hats i see walking around my Georgian city.
john
November 10th, 2010
10:26 am
And Oh ya, Simple Dog….
They have them on tape Bro
Stick a fork in AU
Death Penalty is landing on AU
WORSE than USC
T-Dawg
November 10th, 2010
10:26 am
There is no honor in whooping a wounded war eagle. Let Newton play this week at least.
Sanford Drive
November 10th, 2010
10:27 am
I also notice this year how many BRAND NEW Auburn hats i see walking around Atlanta.
$200,000 buys lots of oodles o' noodles
November 10th, 2010
10:28 am
Goodbye Auburn, nice to know ya!
RMFT! November 26, 2010 = the final nail in the coffin.
Sanford Drive
November 10th, 2010
10:28 am
We don’t know if Cam “Laptop” NEwton will play this week or not…. we are still 3 days away from kickoff…. time for a LOT more allegations tocome out.
J Clay
November 10th, 2010
10:29 am
So they already have a built in excuse for a Dawgs victory this weekend huh?
layinlow
November 10th, 2010
10:30 am
Did anyone happen to catch the Marcus Dupree story on ESPN 30 for 30? It was openly admitted that after Dupree’s freshman year that the UO bought his momma a brand new double wide trailer. Marcus was getting ready to leave OU and Switzer asked his momma is there anything we can do to get Marcus to stay. His momma said yes, I want a new double wide trailer and it was delivered the next day!! Anyone who doesn’t believe these kind of dirty dealings go on are delusional.
I’m now starting to believe Auburn may be dirty. When Chizik was first hired it was a head scratcher for everyone, including Auburn fans. Then all of a sudden this guy Chizik with no real ties to the south starts recruiting like Bear Bryant out of nowhere. I was a little suspicious of Auburn even before all of this Cam Newton stuff hit the media. The NCCA will soon be down there looking around and when that happens they almost always find something. Just ask UGA and AJ green.
High Plains Drifter
November 10th, 2010
10:30 am
I just heard that a UGA player jaywalked across Baxter St.
Who was it?? What is Richt going to do about it? Come on, Mark, the public has a right to know! We want answers now!!
Bo
November 10th, 2010
10:31 am
John where’s the tape? where’s the proof! The glove don’t fit buddy.
Simple dawg..you telling me you never cheated in school and I,m calling you a lier.
Headley Lamar
November 10th, 2010
10:31 am
With Auburns history of serious violations. ( They are second all time in major infractions )
If this turns out to be true. The NCAA might really drop the hammer.
And I mean an SMU sized hammer.
Headley Lamar
November 10th, 2010
10:32 am
One thing is for sure.
Either the folks at Miss St are lying or Auburn is. They cant both be telling the truth.
Somebody is going to pay for all this.
Drew Mitchell
November 10th, 2010
10:32 am
What’s wrong with you Bama and Dawg fans? You shouldn’t wish this upon a student athlete. This new info is just as credible as everything else out there. Auburn fans will stand behind Newton until PROOF is given. All this is just bs being fed by someone who doesn’t like Newtons or Auburns success. And since when do people recruit for a team? I thought coaches did that. So either it’s the MSU coaches or some other non-credible source.
What??
November 10th, 2010
10:32 am
@McDawg
Well lets bring back Charles Grant and Champ Bailey and let them play Saturday and say they are someone else. Hell, just play football – right?. Who cares if we cheat. Go back to scubbing potatoes….”A mind is a terrible thing to waste”
$200,000 buys lots of oodles o' noodles
November 10th, 2010
10:33 am
High Plains Drifter – at least you have the balls to come out of hiding & post. Where are the rest of your barner buddies?
Helmand Dawg
November 10th, 2010
10:34 am
The more things change the more they stay the same. The ‘93 team couldn’t compete for the MNC due to probation from the Pat Dye years. The ‘04 team started a little too high in the polls to get to the big game. Now this. My guess is a Tide booster is the whistleblower and a few years from now an AU alum will return the favor. It never ends.
Delbert D.
November 10th, 2010
10:34 am
@Bo – “Summit Dawg…read page 2….no money to church..its empty, no repairs and going to waste….just another rumor.”
The city of Newnan also canceled the church’s registration in 2008 according the Newnan city councilman quoted in the Newnan newspaper.
War Scam Newton can throw a perfect laptop 75 yards
November 10th, 2010
10:35 am
Drew Mitchell – take your crybaby posting over to the dancing with the stars blog.
Delbert D.
November 10th, 2010
10:35 am
If the investigator look 6 levels deep, they will find a connection with Kevin Bacon.
Katherine
November 10th, 2010
10:37 am
Kevin Bacon lol
Boise Dawg
November 10th, 2010
10:37 am
If this story is true and if Mississippi State recruiting officials reported to the SEC back in January that Cam Newton was impling Auburn paid for his services…. then I think the both the SEC and Auburn may be in deep doo doo. I thought the NCAA wasn’t alerted until July and it sounds like only recently started investigating. Why the delay?
With all the other investigations going on late summer / early fall and the player suspensions, Auburn officials were morons to play this kid until they were 100% sure everything was ok.
Bo
November 10th, 2010
10:38 am
@ 10:34 Cool
CHDawg
November 10th, 2010
10:38 am
You guys really think Auburn would be stupid enough to pay somebody off (a very large sum of money) in these days of computers. You can’t hide that kind of dough, and if true, it would take Auburn down for a decade. Nobody is that dumb, so I say it is likely just rumor. However, who would have thought a player would sell his bowl jersey, either?
show me the money
November 10th, 2010
10:38 am
This type of thing has been going on for decades. Did anybody catch last nights ESPN 30 for 30, The Best that Never Was? The recruiting of Marcus Dupree was a mess –this is a must see to get a glimpse of what really goes on out on the recruiting trail …thrue then, true now.
Headley Lamar
November 10th, 2010
10:39 am
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.
Its not like Auburn hasn’t done this kind of thing before. Im not shocked at all.
I am shocked that people seem to be shocked that this would happen at Auburn.
ddawg
November 10th, 2010
10:40 am
I really don’t understand why this kid continues to be given the benefit of the doubt. Urban Meyer, I repeat, Urban Meyer, kicked him off of his team. He lets you threaten to kill your girlfriend and brings you back and he kicked this kid off of his team. How bad must he be??? Why would it surprise us that he would cheat?
Cam Saga
November 10th, 2010
10:40 am
just wondering if you sports reporters actually do any reporting/investigating on your own? It is like you wait for someone else to do it and then report on it. If a sports story becomes news, does that mean the news reporters take over because sports reporters do not know how to pick up a phone and do some investigating themselves, too lazy, not trained, afraid or all of the mentioned? Who knows what might happen, someone might actually talk to you on the other end of the phone. Just saying…Might want to try it…
War Scam Newton can throw a perfect laptop 75 yards
November 10th, 2010
10:40 am
@CHDawg – where their smoke, their fire.
I am enjoying all these windbag journalists (Like Bradley) who defended him yesterday backtrack.
WDPE (War Death Penalty Eagle)
Gordon
November 10th, 2010
10:41 am
Beware the quarterback with an upcoming UGA game: first Nesbitt and now Newton. UGA may end up 7-5 after all.
JB
November 10th, 2010
10:41 am
Suit’em up and let’s play ball…..Cam and All…..
82Dawg
November 10th, 2010
10:42 am
@ddawg …I thought he with drew from UF not kicked off.
Bo
November 10th, 2010
10:43 am
If there was money? just follow the Money trail.
As Joe Friday would say..Just the Facts Sir…Just the Facts!!!!!!!
Got to go…good day
MURPHY
November 10th, 2010
10:43 am
Has the NCAA asked for bank records from Auburn Booster- Louder yet?
I swear the U.S Government should hire the NCAA to find Bin Laden-Take them about 2 day’s to get him.
Cam Saga
November 10th, 2010
10:45 am
CHDawg, Auburn is that dumb I assure you.
SimpleDawg
November 10th, 2010
10:45 am
Well John, if they do have recordings of solicitations of payment and/or statements of having been paid, then you’re right…..Auburn is “dead as a beaver hat”.
Frankly, I doubt there is any tape recordings of the Newtons talking money or this whole argument would have been settled long ago.
But, I don’t see this ending well for Auburn. Just way too much smoke for there not to be any fire, and too much time has passed, without resolution, since the NCAA was notified for there to be nothing to it.
CamGate is in full blown investigative mode.
High Plains Drifter
November 10th, 2010
10:46 am
I think Auburn officials thought everything was ok when they brought Newton to the team. With all the past problems AU has had, they would have had to absolutely make sure Newton was clean and all of the t’s we’re crossed and the i’s dotted. Isn’t all of this second-hand rumor and innuendo right now anyway? I know “where there’s smoke there’s fire” , but has anyone located the fire yet? All I know is a couple of MSU “recruiters” have made some claims, supposedly. Do they work for MSU or are they alumni/boosters? This is all really sad because I was looking forward to a great rivalry game this Saturday but it looks tainted now. Oh well, at least the media can sell more papers, get more internet hits, and increase the tv and radio ratings by pandering to the lowest common denominators in society, just like they always do.
gdawginkalamazoo
November 10th, 2010
10:48 am
One thing won’t change. HE will still be a tough son of a gun to bring down on Saturday. Grantham better have his guys practicing the tackling moves instead of choke signs this week. Be prepared for Dyer too that kid can move even better than Cam. Tough week for Cam but don’t think for one minute that he won’t run and throw all over us. Hey maybe they started all this stuff to distract us.