<p>Yes, the circumstances of the events reported thus far do not look good. But the fact is that Cam himself hasn’t been accused of any wrongdoing regarding his journey to Auburn U. I am bothered by the other relevations from U of Florida, but O.K. they gave the kid a second chance by telling him to hit the road. Happens all the time in all walks of life.</p>
<p>The alleged behavior of his father is really obnoxious, however. And if Cam has character flaws, we can see where he got them. But let’s not fool ourselves. The Heisman trophy has no relevance to character. It’s about performance. People stepped forward after the fact to claim that they knew Heisman winner Reggie Bush had skeletons. And even a distinguished Coach like former Congressman Tom Osborne of Nebraska played a kid who had serious run-ins with the law and with fellow students. We can always hope for better, but we all know that college sports at the big time level regularly reveals that it has frayed connections to character and integrity.</p>
<p>Can someone please explain how Newton’s situation is different than Reggie Bush’s? If Bush went down without knowing about his parents’ shenanigans, then Newton ought to go down, too.</p>
<p>The Heisman Trophy Trust did indeed ensure the integrity of this award in the past months, First, the HTT did not have the courage to strip the award from Bush and issue an unequivocal message to future cheaters. Then, they did not have the courage to declare Cam Newton uneligible for this year’s Heisman. </p>
<p>It is obvious that the people who are currently in charge of the Heisman have not read their own mission statement lately. </p>
<p>If poetic justice still exists, in a repeat of what happened to Bush and USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl, this year’s championship game will not crown Auburn.</p>
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<p>How did Bush ever go down? The allegations were known well before he won the Heisman, played in the National Championship, and bolted for the NFL. What was his punishment? Voluntarily returning the trophy? The only punishment has been felt by futire gemerations of USC athletes.</p>
<p>let’s be real, no big time college football schools care if their players graduate. The football team graduation rates are publicly available. They want the best players who will win the most games and make the school the most money. If they have to major in underwater basket weaving or have tutors 5 days a week or even have other people do their HW, they turn a blind eye.</p>
<p>Then if the NCAA comes knocking, they pretend to care. To be fair, the NCAA doesn’t really care either. They are too busy making schools like William and Mary take the feathers out of their logo than whether or not “student” athletes are actually students at all.</p>
<p>I think it would be better all round if the NFL would develop its own farm team system, like baseball and hockey, and stop using the state university systems–and a few private Us–for that purpose.</p>
<p>Then Newton could be celebrated for being a superb athlete, with no pretense that he is a student, no shadows on his record. (That is, if he refrained from stealing from his team mates…)</p>
<p>Wow. Lots of harsh words here. If you’ve ever seen Cam Newton play, you’d know why he won the Heisman, hands down. </p>
<p>The charges in the laptop incident at UF were dropped after Newton completed a pre-trial intervention program for first-time offenders. This program is offered to many first-time offenders in Alachua County, Florida. Should Newton have been denied access to the program because he played football for UF? That doesn’t seem fair, now does it? </p>
<p>UF often offers the “quit or get expelled” option to students whose academic integrity is in question. Nothing new there. It avoids lengthy hearings and keeps a student’s academic record clean - so they can attend college elsewhere and, hopefully, get a degree in honest fashion. And besides, why would Newton stay at UF after Tebow announced he was returning for another season? No mystery as to why he left UF, IMO. </p>
<p>Is there any evidence that Newton has academic problems at Auburn? Any evidence he didn’t learn his lesson by completing the intervention program in Gainesville? The kid took time off from the lights and glory to attend junior college, get his s*** together, and then returned to a 4-year school to play ball. HE wasn’t shopping schools for extra cash. His dad was. There is no evidence that Auburn and Newton cut a deal for extra cash for Newton to attend that school. Should my kids pay for their dad’s mistakes? Should your kids pay for your mistakes? </p>
<p>If Newton stays healthy he is going to end up playing in the NFL next year. I’ve seen music theatre and theatre majors leave school early because they get a part on Broadway or in commercials. They go to school to learn how to earn a living. If they can do it without the degree, bully for them. </p>
<p>Time may prove me wrong, but I think Cam Newton earned the Heisman fair and square. He’s been fun to watch and is an amazing athlete. Auburn totally deserves to play in the BCS Championship game. And Cam Newton deserves to be there with them.</p>
<p>colmom- Auburn’s violations go way beyond Cam Newton. I assure you of that. They do NOT deserve to be in the championship game- but they are and so is he. Do you REALLY thing the kid didn’t know that the Dad was shopping him around?</p>
<p>Like this doesn’t go on with tons of other players either? </p>
<p>Come on… I think its really obvious with Cam’s little Freudian Slip during his speech…
he said something to the effect of “I want to thank my parents for all of their work behind the scenes”</p>
<p>Lets get 2 things straight here.
Cam Newton is a dumbass. He is an unintelligent moron who is the utter epitome of the college athlete (notice, not student athlete).
Cam Newton is a football genius. He probably couldn’t tell you what the square root of 100 is, but he sure as hell could pump your team up and carry them to the BCS championship. </p>
<p>I think he deserves and should keep the heisman. However, I 100% agree with the other poster who noted how Auburn will get hurt after the game just because the NCAA hates teams like TCU and Boise State (they probably paid that kid to miss those field goals, just kidding - but they were probably jumping for joy in his misery).</p>
<p>If the NCAA is serious about stopping pay for play, they will have to do exactly that. Parents need to be put on notice that if they (or any other representative) ask for or accept financial compensation for signing with a given school, the athlete will be ineligible. Otherwise this continues with everyone who gets caught saying, “I didn’t know my Dad was doing that. I just thought all the new cars and house and stuff came from his Christmas bonus at work.”</p>
<p>^^^^Yes! Disclaimer: I am a Bama graduate and long-time fan. I thought his acceptance was particularly inarticulate and his demeanor not very genuine.</p>
<p>Our Az Cardinals are already speculating about taking a QB in next year’s draft. Luck seems to be the first choice; Cam down at third. Not sure about the X’s and O’s that are going into that, but after going through the Matt Leinart off the field nonsense, the Cards will stay away from someone with baggage.</p>
<p>It’s a stupid system that turns thrilling, gifted athletes into petty crooks and extortionists. But it doesn’t turn every gifted athlete into a crook. And there’s nothing about thrilling athletic ability that guarantees any particular level of integrity. One would think that the really gifted athletes have less of an incentive to cheat than the rest of us, since (a) in a straight-up, fair competition they win, and (b) the rest of us don’t have to worry about maximizing the value of our endorsement deals. But apparently one would think wrong, in part at least because we don’t treat gifted athletes with integrity, either – forcing them to pretend to go to college, and not paying them for their work.</p>
<p>So, yeah, the system ought to change. Don’t hold your collective breath.</p>
<p>MoWC - The scandal involves Cecil Newton and Mississippi State, not Auburn. There are no new cars, new house, etc. No money exchanged hands. Auburn has been cleared as has Cam Newton. </p>
<p>To blame Newton for his dad’s bonehead move seems ridiculous. How can a child control the actions of a parent? You don’t think Cecil Newton knew he was doing wrong? Come on. That has nothing to do with Cam Newton. It is truly possible Cam didn’t know about his dad’s grab at money since there were no new cars, trips, houses, etc. Seems like Mississippi State should be investigated to find out who was talking to Cecil Newton in the first place. </p>
<p>I’ve seen TCU’s and Boise State’s strength of schedule. Ummm . . . Auburn so deserves to play in the championship game.</p>
<p>You are right, xiggi, I totally misphrased my statement. It should have been, “If USC went down because of Bush’s parents’ shenanigans, then why shouldn’t Auburn?”</p>
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<p>But isn’t this exactly what the NCAA did to USC? USC was punished for the actions of Reggie Bush’s parents, even though Bush claimed not to know about his parents actions.</p>
<p>My understanding is that both Reggie Bush and his parents received cash and gifts, and he actually attended the school paying him. Since no money/gifts exchanged hands in the case of Cecil Newton AND since Cam attends Auburn NOT Mississippi State, there seems to be a clear difference between Reggie Bush and Cam Newton. It is possible Cam wasn’t in on his dad’s wheelings and dealings. Without physical proof, it’s hard to know. He’s innocent until proven guilty, right?</p>
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<p>USC knew about the infraction via an assistant coach, who did nothing about it. The NCAA ruled that since the pay-for-play went on for two years at USC, they should have known something was up. The assistant coach should have reported it. No proof Auburn knew Cecil Newton asked Mississippi State for money.</p>
<p>I don’t think this is correct. Reggie Bush’s mother and stepfather lived in a condo “gifted” by a would-be agent, which agency never materialized. USC never paid Bush or his parents. There was no pay-for-play.</p>
<p>I would argue just the opposite. Since Cecil knew what he was doing was wrong and could affect his son’s college career, he did it anyway. Perhaps a 2+year penalty for an athletic scholarship might deter would be fools.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree that this does not appear to be an Auburn issue, but it is an Newton family issue. Cam should be banned/penalized from D1 athletics, not enriched beyond his wildest dreams. Or, do you want to suggest that crime does pay, as long as its a family member, and the athlete pulls the Sgt Schultz defense (from Hogan’s Heroes): “I know nothing, nothing!”</p>
<p>What about the dad’s church that miraculously met code and wasn’t closed? I thought that’s where the money went. Did I dream that? I haven’t heard a lot about that recently.</p>