Yet another Cam allegation, this one far more serious for AU
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.
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387 comments Add your comment
FullMetalJacket
November 10th, 2010
12:27 pm
I hate to do it, but I agree with Dawg fan MURPHY: given the threshold that must be passed for the NCAA to investigate an allegation, once they’re involved there is almost always a finding of wrongdoing somewhere… Worse still, they usually find some additional snakes when turning over all those rocks.
ozzfest
November 10th, 2010
12:27 pm
I BET CAM WISHES HE HAD STUCK WITH BEING A 2ND STRING TIGHT END (TO ORSON CHARLES) AND ENROLLED AT GEORGIA.
Delbert D.
November 10th, 2010
12:28 pm
Chuck and Chernoff just played the Schad tape, and they (I think) clarified who can be recruiters. Obviously the assistant coaches, also, the hospitality babes while the recruit is on campus, but also alumni/boosters *when the recruit is on a campus visit the day of a game*. They speculate that the alleged contact was made the day of the Egg Bowl.
azdawg
November 10th, 2010
12:28 pm
AU will not bench CN. However, if he was UGA’s QB he’d probably be booted off the team just like Mettenberger. And the moral of the story? GA is 5-5, soon to be 5-6. Idiots are running the program into the ground at UGA.
JHS61165
November 10th, 2010
12:28 pm
Its not “character assassination” if it is TRUE. And it is true. Auburn just couldnt help themselves. Cheating is a way of life in Lee County, Alabama.
spike
November 10th, 2010
12:29 pm
http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2010/11/scarbinsky_is_the_latest_hit_o.html
Should these conversations have actually happened, I can’t wait to hear MSU’s explanation about why they were still recruiting Newton after learning he was shopping himself for cash, and further, it better have been MSU coaches doing said recruiting, or somebody’s going to be in a heap of trouble. Oh and the SEC’s explanation for not investigating this back in January when it was reported to them.
What is that smell...
November 10th, 2010
12:29 pm
Words of wisdom from the women of my dreams…
Women of my dreams: “Honey what is that smell”.
Me : “What smell”.
Women of my dreams: “The smell that smells like the last time you crapped your undies”
Me : “It’s not me”.
Women of my dreams: “There is something causing that smell”.
FullMetalJacket
November 10th, 2010
12:30 pm
Mark: thanks for the thorough and objective commentary. My sympathy to all the AU grads in the Atlanta area until this is resolved, and if there isn’t any fire at the base of these billows of smoke, then Cam Newton has been greatly wronged.
ozzfest
November 10th, 2010
12:30 pm
…AND I NEED ONE TICKET. I WOULD NOT MISS THE CHANCE TO SEE THE DOGS PUT THIS BOZO ON HIS BUTT SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
WATCH OUT IF CAM JUMPS INTO THE STANDS AGAIN…HE MIGHT TRY TO STEAL YOUR WALLET.
TheAntiMe
November 10th, 2010
12:30 pm
How come Stanford never has stuff like this go on?
Because Stanford’s mascot is a tree, and everyone knows that trees never cheat. They get whizzed on by other mascots like Bulldogs and Trojans but they still never cheat.
Headley Lamar
November 10th, 2010
12:30 pm
It would be easier to believe Auburn if they hadn’t done this kind of thing time and time again.
They have been on probabtion more times than any other school not named SMU.
Face it. Cheating is as strong an Auburn tradition as Toomers Corner.
Woodstock Dawg
November 10th, 2010
12:31 pm
Come on AJC, it’s after noon already and I haven’t heard anymore rumor and innuendo from unnamed sources since this morning! What’s the deal? You are really slacking off!!
What??
November 10th, 2010
12:31 pm
Newton will leave after trhis year and go to the NFL, make millions. Auburn gets NAILED & he will say “to bad”, he made the school millions the one year he was there. The race card will be played.
Smart like a Fox
November 10th, 2010
12:31 pm
lol…no way would Stanford ever have offered that kid….They consider character a major factor,and grades count there.
Blackberry Cobbler
November 10th, 2010
12:31 pm
Frankly, I hope all these allegations prove to be FALSE……. THEN, the Newtons can sue the pants off everyone including the media and have a get-rich day.
FullMetalJacket
November 10th, 2010
12:32 pm
The NCAA Compliance division needs to examine its disclosure policies, and either make allegations all public or completely private. We should have learned about this investigation from a press release directly from the NCAA source, not from a potentially biased press source. What do you think, Mr. Bradley?
Dogs Smell
November 10th, 2010
12:32 pm
Lowcountry Bulldawgs
Bulldogs never use excuses for losing do they?
spike
November 10th, 2010
12:33 pm
@Delbert, so now the contention is these anonymous sources were not coaches, but MSU alumni or bimbos that dropped a dime on Newton when he wouldn’t play for the Bulldogs?
That certainly makes the story more believable. Does anyone have anything that could be construed as “evidence” here? Beuller?
(Dicky V voice)Are you kidding me?
November 10th, 2010
12:34 pm
What??
November 10th, 2010
12:31 pm
Newton will leave after trhis year and go to the NFL, make millions.
Doing what in the NFL? QB? hahaahaha
Headley Lamar
November 10th, 2010
12:34 pm
Bulldogs never use excuses for losing do they?
Not about Tech. We never lose to them anyway.
dawgfan
November 10th, 2010
12:35 pm
Cam should have enrolled at UGA as a tight end… this wouldn’t be an issue now since he would have disappeared talent-wise like our other 4 and 5 star players do.
Smart like a Fox
November 10th, 2010
12:36 pm
South Eastern Cheaters….its a league and everyone does it so it can’t be wrong….
Delbert D.
November 10th, 2010
12:36 pm
$200,000 seems a bit much to get a guy to play QB for 1 year at Auburn.
FullMetalJacket
November 10th, 2010
12:36 pm
SEC not investigating charges of wrongdoing by one of its members? Wow, who would’ve ever thought that…
Another anonymous source
November 10th, 2010
12:37 pm
spike
November 10th, 2010
12:33 pm
@Delbert, so now the contention is these anonymous sources were not coaches, but MSU alumni or bimbos that dropped a dime on Newton when he wouldn’t play for the Bulldogs?
Sure, thats why the NCAA and FBI are involved. Keep dreaming.
Dogs Smell
November 10th, 2010
12:38 pm
What is your excuses for ALWAYS losing to UF and more times than Not losing to UT? Is that all you have? Normally Ga fans are full of many more excuses for losing !
curious
November 10th, 2010
12:38 pm
Ethics? Fraud? Consider, this is a young man with incredible talent. Why shouldn’t he and his familly cash in?
His talent gets him in the door on a 4-year treadmill to a bogus degree, padded with over-crowded classrooms and poorly taught by graduate students, not professors.
And to top it off, if the student-athlete is really good, the university will reap millions in ticket sales, bowl payoffs, television revenue, product endorsements. If the student is unlucky, a knee or other injury could ruin his path to future earnings.
Need I say more?
Scott
November 10th, 2010
12:39 pm
Mark,
Just so you know – Auburn and the SEC have known about this since January.
Headley Lamar
November 10th, 2010
12:41 pm
What is your excuses for ALWAYS losing to UF and more times than Not losing to UT?
We do lose to Florida. But certainly not a sub-par program like Tech.
Also Richt has a winning record against UT. Look it up.
TooMuchMoney
November 10th, 2010
12:41 pm
It’s time to pay NCAA players the same as student employees in other positions. Minimum wage isn’t much, and the programs would still make money hand over fist. The next step is to seriously punish players and programs who break the rules, meaning financial and meaningful penalties. The NCAA also needs to seek cooperation from the NFL, for whom they serve as the farm system in football and (especially) basketball.
enough already curious
November 10th, 2010
12:41 pm
curious
November 10th, 2010
12:38 pm
Need I say more?
Please don’t.
Headley Lamar
November 10th, 2010
12:42 pm
Ethics? Fraud? Consider, this is a young man with incredible talent. Why shouldn’t he and his familly cash in?
Ummmm because its illegal.
If you want to change the rules and pay the players fine. But thats not the system we have in place now.
TooMuchMoney
November 10th, 2010
12:44 pm
H. Lamar: you make as much sense as your morally flawed namesake, so it makes sense you are a UGA fan. I bet you paint your own dog’s butt, too, probably with KY (not Kentucky) jelly.
BigDaddy
November 10th, 2010
12:44 pm
“Un-named sources”? Should a legitimate newspaper be allowed to even publish what actually amounts to gossip? The new wave in America, just say it, and that makes it true.
drsoul
November 10th, 2010
12:46 pm
Cam was trying to qualify for Georgia, but he screwed up and forgot that you are supposed to get arrested AFTER you are on the team, not as a qualification to get on the team….!!!!
Delbert D.
November 10th, 2010
12:46 pm
I’m sure the FBI would like to meet in private with the bimbos. I think they have asked to meet with Cecil Newton and his lawyer, though.
Gene
November 10th, 2010
12:48 pm
I attended Auburn as an undergraduate. My parents and siblings graduated from Auburn. I have a graduate degree from Georgia. I have been attending Auburn-Georgia games since that great game in 1959. When the thug, Pat Dye, was at Auburn, I pulled for Georgia. Since Adams and Richt, I pull for Auburn. I have seen Newton play, and he is clearly the best football player I have ever seen, including Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker. If Auburn paid cash for Newton, Auburn, Newton, and Newton’s dad should receive the maximum penalty. There are strange aspects to this whole issue. Both MS State and UF reported alleged infractions after Newton signed with Auburn, not before. I don’t know what to think at this point. It is a sad state of affairs for the SEC and college football. It is sad that high school players sign with a college, expecting big money from the NFL, with no academic goals or interest whatsoever. One partial solution would be to hold athletes to the same admission standards as regular students. Let the rascals and thugs go directly to the NFL, or maybe the NFL should develop a minor league like baseball. At any rate, all of this should have been investigated prior to the season. The timing of it points a finger at Mullen and Meyer.
TooMuchMoney
November 10th, 2010
12:49 pm
There are two kinds of college football fans: Those who acknowledge that there is some corruption in every program (including their own) and who hope it is minimal in their own program. The others who think only their rivals and the successful schools are guilty and that their own schools are immaculate. Open your eyes, people, it is better to be enlightened and resigned to compromise than naive and ignorant.
$200,000 buys alot of oodles o' noodles
November 10th, 2010
12:51 pm
I can’t believe some of you people still don’t believe it.
Look at the Camburglar’s track record. he isn’t exactly a choir boy.
Proof is in the pudding
All in……. deep deep trouble
Najeh Davenpoop
November 10th, 2010
12:53 pm
If a regular student can earn money using his talents while he is still in school by getting internships, working part time, etc., and if a regular student can accept gifts from people with impunity, it is flat out absurd that an athlete can’t do the same thing.
It always amuses me when people complain about pro athletes wanting to be compensated for their services and use that as an excuse to say college sports are better. EVERYONE wants to be fairly compensated. The only difference is that in college, where the archaic, plantation-like rules prevent student-athletes from getting their piece of the pie, they have to go under the table to get what they deserve.
College sports are a joke.
root4au
November 10th, 2010
12:53 pm
Still have not seen any proof that Cam nor AU has done anything wrong?
fishtales
November 10th, 2010
12:53 pm
After the ITAT’s “Operation Red Dog” before the 2009 season, I hope Auburn goes down in flames and I also hope (although I don’t think it was) it was a Bama source that brought them down. RTR
46-40
November 10th, 2010
12:54 pm
I want to BEAT AU with Newton.
NO EXCUSES!!
GO DAWGS!!!!!
TooMuchMoney
November 10th, 2010
12:54 pm
Gene: Good post. Nice to see a rational yet still passionate argument. As a university faculty member I agree whole-heartedly that athletes should meet the same standards as all other students. Unfortunately, I have seen too many student-athletes admitted provisionally and allowed to stick around for several years who had neither the inclination nor the intellect to succeed in college. I disagree that they are all ignorant thugs, but they should have been given another reasonable path to the NFL. I blame the NFL and the university leadership for the situation.
NothingNew
November 10th, 2010
12:55 pm
Sources from another source told me that these allegations are old news and much to do about nothing. They were turned over to SEC and NCAA back in July. All parties new about these allegations. Now they have leaked out to the public. So don’t bet on it that these are true. If it was true, Auburn would have delcared him ineligible since day one. So don’t get too excited for those who are trying to ruin the Newtown and Auburn Family.
Weary
November 10th, 2010
12:56 pm
of the “Auburn Family” thing…guess that is what you do carrying such an inferiority complex. It’s a “feel good” thing, I guess.
"it was just too much money"
November 10th, 2010
12:57 pm
All in…….. on the death penalty.
and you thought Alabama & USC got in trouble. The NCAA is licking their chops, ready to drop the hammer on the barn.
wolfman
November 10th, 2010
12:57 pm
At least the public media circus is off my Tar Heels for awhile!
A time for confessions
November 10th, 2010
12:57 pm
Eddie Long, O.J., Cam Newton, YES we all DID IT. You know we are guilty until proven innocent!!! Go Dawgs, suspend Cam NOW hurry up so the Dawgs can stomp Auburn!!!!! woof woof woof sic em
Najeh Davenpoop
November 10th, 2010
12:57 pm
Only in the twisted, through the looking glass world of college sports would someone trying to be fairly compensated for his work be referred to by words like “infraction” and “violation”.