Yesterday the Never to Yield Foundation shed light on the circumstances of Cam Newton’s tenure at Florida. In the second installment of a four part series, The Curious Case of Cameron Newton, we address the storm of NCAA controversy that swirled around Newton and his Auburn Tigers in October and November.
July 12, 2011 — Cameron Newton signed with Auburn in December 2009, spurning Mississippi State and former Florida offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, his position coach with the Gators.
In October of 2010 stories that Newton’s father Cecil had talked with Mississippi State boosters about potential payment for Cam to sign with the Bulldogs surfaced.
The allegations set off a firestorm of media speculation.
After an SEC and NCAA review, Newton was suspended prior to Auburn’s appearance in the SEC Championship game. Auburn petitioned for and was granted his reinstatement a day later.
The crush of media fascination with the situation sparked a number of oft-repeated but inaccurate reports. There was the pervasive contention that Cecil Newton “shopped his son to the highest bidder,” whispers that the NCAA, SEC and Auburn were in collusion to keep Newton eligible, and claims that the disposition of the case hinged on what Cam Newton knew.
Wrong.
Shopping around
Chief among the commonly repeated misconceptions is the contention that Cecil Newton, father of Auburn quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton, “shopped his son around to the highest bidder.” That phrase has been repeated in virtually every media venue imaginable. It’s still the drum being beaten incessantly on talk radio.
The simple fact is that there is no evidence the elder Newton did any such thing.
Did Cecil Newton admit to participating in a discussion with a former Mississippi State player regarding potential payments should his son sign with the Bulldogs? Yes. The NCAA noted in its official report that Newton and the owner of a scouting service worked together to actively market Newton as part of a pay-for-play scenario.
That’s where the story ends. There was no “bidding.” There is no evidence of any competing offers. There was no eBay auction that ended at 10:40 p.m. on January 3.
There has never been any official confirmation of who initiated the discussions between Newton and the agent or what those discussions may have entailed. That’s a critical distinction.
Whatever the content, those discussions included representatives of Mississippi State interests only.
It has been confirmed that no one from Auburn had discussions of that nature with Cecil Newton. NCAA president Mark Emmert said there was no evidence implicating Auburn University on at least three separate occasions.
Other schools that were recruiting Newton, including Tennessee and Oklahoma, reported no irregularities.
Shopping around? Highest bidder? Simply not true.
Unfortunately that hasn’t stopped every talking head from Timbuktu to Tuscaloosa from embracing the phrase as if it were the gospel.
Behind the Scenes Deal with the NCAA?
Auburn followed NCAA protocol to the letter regarding Newton’s participation. There was no undercover investigation or super secret probe. Decisions regarding Newton were made in accordance with NCAA regulations.
Although some reported the Tigers were advised to bench Newton in November (or December, depending on which version of the rumor your favorite message board guru chooses to espouse today) all credible sources who were privy to the conversations and or had knowledge of what transpired rejected that claim out of hand. If Auburn had been advised to shelve Newton by the NCAA or the SEC, Auburn would have done so.
Tiger compliance director Rich McGlynn reinforced this in an exclusive interview with Phillip Marshall of AuburnUndercover.com.
“When advice came from the NCAA, he was immediately declared ineligible,” McGlynn told Marshall.
“I knew we had a pretty good argument that Cam had very little culpability,” McGlynn said. “In fact, none. I think we put a really strong argument together that, although technically this bylaw might have been violated, it does not warrant withholding an individual from competition.
“If I’d had a concern about his eligibility, he wouldn’t have played.”
Throughout the fall, Auburn officials maintained a policy of making no public comment. McGlynn told Marshall that was for the best, noting that having Cam come out of the tunnel on game days said all that really needed to be said on the subject.
“Our actions spoke louder than our words. Anything we said was not going to change those who believed what we said versus those who did not or will not believe anything we ever say.”
What Did Cam Know?
Alabama booster Scott Moore tried to build a radio audience and eventually lost his job by making speculative claims about ‘tapes’ that allegedly indicated that Cam Newton may have been aware that his father had discussed a monetary arrangement with a scout and Mississippi State booster.
The message board underworld held on to this nugget of fool’s gold as if it were the holy grail and the key component in eventually rendering Cam ineligible and thus retroactively voiding Auburn’s 2010 season and national championship.
Bubble? Meet burst.
On May 10, NCAA Vice President for Enforcement Julie Roe Lach said whether an athlete knows of someone else taking an extra benefit has never been a violation and was “the most misunderstood issue surrounding the Cam Newton case.”
“Has never been a violation.”
That seems crystal clear.
Isn’t this just like what happened with USC and Reggie Bush?
The notion that there are any similarities at all between the Reggie Bush case at USC and the Newton allegations is simply absurd. It shouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure it out either.
Bush and his family received hundreds of thousands of dollars in improper benefits from boosters and agents while at USC. There was evidence and the transgressions were proven.
The NCAA looked carefully into Newton’s situation and found no evidence that Newton or his family received any benefits for enrolling, during his recruitment or during his career at Auburn. You can rest assured no stone was left unturned.
There is no comparison between the two. They are entirely different circumstances.
In a statement on May 10, NCAA president Mark Emmert reiterated this. “There’s no evidence money ever changed hands.” Emmert said. “It was just solicitation, an unsuccessful solicitation.”
In a separate interview, Emmert noted “there was no evidence that money had changed hands and there was no evidence that Auburn University had anything to do with it.”
Evidence vs. no evidence. There’s a difference.
Where there’s smoke there’s…. nothing?
On July 8, CNN/SI college football reporter Dennis Dodd told the Paul Finebaum radio network that it’s his opinion the Newton allegations have run their course.
“I will say this. The Cam Newton thing, right now as we stand here there is absolutely no smoke that I’ve seen or heard from anyone. I don’t know why they haven’t put that thing to bed. I have no reason to believe there’s anything there right now.”
Nothing there.
No smoke.
Nothing.
In Part III of The Curious Case of Cameron Newton, the Never to Yield Foundation will consider how Newton and Auburn weathered the storm and take a look at the real Cam Newton.
“Bubble? Meet burst.” That’s a great line in a good series of articles. Thanks!
Great read! Of course the Kirk McNair’s of the world won’t like the message, but cockroaches have never liked the light. And that’s what this article is…it’s the light of truth shining brightly. Can’t wait to read the third installment! Thank you, NTYF, for giving a voice to reason!
I constantly heard the “where there is smoke, there is fire” line throughout the saga. A lot of times that’s true, as with Ohio State, North Carolina, etc. But sometimes there is smoke because a bunch of idiots are trying to light a fire using wet kindling that’s just not going to catch. That’s what happened with Auburn and Cam. They thought they had something and tried everything they could to light the fire, but all they got was more smoke that eventually just disappeared. Because there was nothing more there for them to find.
“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” is another way of saying: There’s no evidence, just a bunch of speculation some want to believe.
History repeats itself with Cam Newton just as it did in 1957 with Don Fuell. The only difference is the power of the darkside was too much back then.
I hope none of you believe that the a-holes behind all of this smear campaign are going to rest just because some other bloggers write well-worded retorts. There are forces at work who will not rest until Cam Newton, his father, and Auburn’s football program (and, by proxy, the university) are burned for this in some serious way.
Just like the “Gore won” crowd succeeded in convincing people GW Bush was the biggest idiot to ever hold the oval office, these “enemies” of Cam Newton and Auburn football will not rest until the rest of the world calls it all dirty and something is done about it whether it be warranted, justified, or not.
Here I was thinking bammers would simply resort to “Auburn will be back to their normal mediocre” or “It’ll be 53 years til the next one”. But they’ve gone so far off the deep end with Auburn winning the BCS, and a good number of them live each day hoping and praying someone will ease their pain by taking it away. I guess it will somehow change what happened in Bryant Dummy when they blew a 24-0 lead. Sad pathetic lot they are.
What’s unique here is that this isn’t presented through orange and blue glasses. This is the result of actual research…actual quotes from the people who count…actual facts…something everyone outside the Auburn family refuses to deal with. If some mullet wearing yahoo going by the name Crimpsum Harley on a message board says, “I done heard the hammer gone fall on Allbarn any day now” it’s taken as the gospel. Let anyone read this and dispute any of it’s content. Go ahead.
Where there is smoke there is fire WRONG that was just steam coming off the REC folks heads because AU won a BCS and they cant deal with it.
This got the attention of Ibleedcrimsonred.com too. LOL.
Cam stole a laptop…it’s important that they cling to that.
And vetted reports that say Cam didn’t cheat, or was never brought up on such charges won’t deter them from saying it happened.
WDE!
Gore did win, and the country took the biggest loss in over 150 years. And we have just begun to pay for it.
Gore did not win and the country is $14 trillion in debt because of all the progressives of both parties in Washington.
Maybe where there is smoke there is fire,
but, not at AU. It seems like a lot of the fire was coming from the Crapstone.
keep them coming
Awesome Article. It’s ALL FACTUAL, every sentence of every paragraph.
This website and these articles are a work of art. Keep up the great work.
The Updyke Nation is hurting people.
They as always cant keep their cake holes shut and they spew off at the mouth and make claims and promises they
cant keep or control. ie. Auburn will never beat UA as long as Sagod is coach.
AU will never win the SEC and especially the national championship as long as Sagod is at UAT. Well thats all like a fart in the wind. So they make claims about Cam and blah blah blah and not one has presented any proof its laughable.
Hey Updyke Nation…Want to stop the pain? Then know your roles and shut your cake holes, before we lay the smack down on you….aaagggaaaiiinnn.
IM OUT>>>>
Wow, such a good read! I never knew that actually using facts made for a good story. Too bad I just won’t believe it. I’ll go back to wiping Saban’s…you know what.
Hey Finebaum, you can take your show and shove….wait, I see what you did there.
“Alabama booster Scott Moore tried to build a radio audience and eventually lost his job by making speculative claims about ‘tapes’ that allegedly indicated that Cam Newton may have been aware that his father had discussed a monetary arrangement with a scout and Mississippi State booster.”
*************
You know this is a lie. Scooter Moore is a professional journalist – I said PROFESSIONAL – and his loyalty toward Alabama wouldn’t taint his reporting of this “factual” story. And he didn’t lose his job. He left for bigger and better things. Don’t forget his new show will be on in another three weeks… at least that’s what he said in January! What is it now??? July… and we’re still waiting… oh, that’s right, it’s been put on hold because it’s going national!
Seriously, this guy rewrites history. According to him, he has broken every story relating to Alabama football since 1935. If he had broken 5% of the stories he claims, he’d be on ESPN, Fox Sports and CBS 24hours a day- hell, he’d have his own network!
But, we had better be careful when talking or posting about Scooter- he has his “legal team” sitting on go- ready to pounce on the NTYF for all the “lies” we’ve told on him and all misfortune we have caused him.
AND let there be no doubt, according to Scooter, the Bama Nation backs him. I’m sure they’re proud.