http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5786315
Two sources who recruit for Mississippi State said that Cecil Newton and his son, quarterback Cam Newton, admitted in separate phone conversations to a pay-for-play plan while Newton was being recruited late last year.
Mississippi State compliance officials relayed the alleged conversations to Southeastern Conference compliance officials in January, according to two other sources close to the football program.
Prior to Newton's commitment to Auburn, one of the recruiters said Cecil Newton told him it would take "more than a scholarship" to bring his son to Mississippi State, a request the source said the school would not meet. Cecil Newton also referred the recruiter to a third person that would provide more specifics, the source said.
SEC blog
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College Football Nation
After Newton committed to Auburn, another source said an emotional Cam Newton phoned another recruiter to express regret about his change of commitment from Mississippi State, stating that his father Cecil had chosen Auburn for him because "the money was too much."
The NCAA is investigating allegations surrounding the Newtons in regards to the recruiting process. Cam Newton, who is having a Heisman-caliber season for No. 2 Auburn, declined comment.
Cecil Newton, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, did not respond to an e-mail request for comment Tuesday night.
Auburn did not respond to a request for comment. The school has repeatedly said it looked into Newton's recruitment and that he remains eligible.
Earlier Tuesday, Auburn found itself defending Newton in the wake of allegations of academic cheating when he was at Florida. The Tigers' coach, Gene Chizik, dismissed a FoxSports.com report as "pure garbage" in an emotional 4-minute, 25-second rant.
"I'm standing up here on a very important week trying to defend something that's garbage," Chizik said. Auburn faces Georgia on Saturday.
FoxSports.com reported Monday that Newton was caught cheating three times and was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida's Student Committee facing possible expulsion during the spring semester of 2009.
Newton transferred to Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas, where he played last season. He declined to discuss the latest report, which came on the heels of former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond telling ESPN.com that someone claiming to represent the Newton family sought money during his recruitment by the school.
Sources told ESPN.com the man who said he was representing the Newtons was Kenny Rogers, who played in the 1980s for Mississippi State alongside Bond.
"I'm not going to entertain something that took place not three months, not six months, not a year but two years ago," Cam Newton said. "I'm not going to sit up here and say anything about it, whether I did or did not do it, because I don't want to beat a dead horse talking about it. It's not going to affect me any way, shape or fashion."
Cecil Newton talked about the allegations earlier Tuesday on Paul Finebaum's syndicated sports talk radio show in Alabama.
"This is a character assassination attempt," he said on the show. "Who is going to profit and why are they are going to profit? We sure don't.
"I think there's a group of people who have a hidden agenda and don't want to see him as a Heisman nominee, let alone winner," he said.
In Gainesville, Florida coach Urban Meyer said in a statement that neither he nor anyone on his staff leaked information on Newton's academic record, calling it a "ridiculous claim."
"For anyone to think that I or anyone on our staff may have leaked information about private student records to the media doesn't know us very well," Meyer said. "It's a ridiculous claim and simply not true."
Cam Newton said Meyer was a man of integrity.
"I would hope he wouldn't say anything like that," he said.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who also recruited Newton out of Blinn, said he saw "nothing at all" out of the ordinary during that process.
"Our recruitment of Cameron could not have been better, or was just fine," Stoops said. "I didn't notice anything and none of our coaches did as we were recruiting him."
Joe Schad is a national college football reporter for ESPN. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Two sources who recruit for Mississippi State said that Cecil Newton and his son, quarterback Cam Newton, admitted in separate phone conversations to a pay-for-play plan while Newton was being recruited late last year.
Mississippi State compliance officials relayed the alleged conversations to Southeastern Conference compliance officials in January, according to two other sources close to the football program.
Prior to Newton's commitment to Auburn, one of the recruiters said Cecil Newton told him it would take "more than a scholarship" to bring his son to Mississippi State, a request the source said the school would not meet. Cecil Newton also referred the recruiter to a third person that would provide more specifics, the source said.
SEC blog
College Football Nation
After Newton committed to Auburn, another source said an emotional Cam Newton phoned another recruiter to express regret about his change of commitment from Mississippi State, stating that his father Cecil had chosen Auburn for him because "the money was too much."
The NCAA is investigating allegations surrounding the Newtons in regards to the recruiting process. Cam Newton, who is having a Heisman-caliber season for No. 2 Auburn, declined comment.
Cecil Newton, who previously has denied any wrongdoing, did not respond to an e-mail request for comment Tuesday night.
Auburn did not respond to a request for comment. The school has repeatedly said it looked into Newton's recruitment and that he remains eligible.
Earlier Tuesday, Auburn found itself defending Newton in the wake of allegations of academic cheating when he was at Florida. The Tigers' coach, Gene Chizik, dismissed a FoxSports.com report as "pure garbage" in an emotional 4-minute, 25-second rant.
"I'm standing up here on a very important week trying to defend something that's garbage," Chizik said. Auburn faces Georgia on Saturday.
FoxSports.com reported Monday that Newton was caught cheating three times and was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida's Student Committee facing possible expulsion during the spring semester of 2009.
Newton transferred to Blinn Junior College in Brenham, Texas, where he played last season. He declined to discuss the latest report, which came on the heels of former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond telling ESPN.com that someone claiming to represent the Newton family sought money during his recruitment by the school.
Sources told ESPN.com the man who said he was representing the Newtons was Kenny Rogers, who played in the 1980s for Mississippi State alongside Bond.
"I'm not going to entertain something that took place not three months, not six months, not a year but two years ago," Cam Newton said. "I'm not going to sit up here and say anything about it, whether I did or did not do it, because I don't want to beat a dead horse talking about it. It's not going to affect me any way, shape or fashion."
Cecil Newton talked about the allegations earlier Tuesday on Paul Finebaum's syndicated sports talk radio show in Alabama.
"This is a character assassination attempt," he said on the show. "Who is going to profit and why are they are going to profit? We sure don't.
"I think there's a group of people who have a hidden agenda and don't want to see him as a Heisman nominee, let alone winner," he said.
In Gainesville, Florida coach Urban Meyer said in a statement that neither he nor anyone on his staff leaked information on Newton's academic record, calling it a "ridiculous claim."
"For anyone to think that I or anyone on our staff may have leaked information about private student records to the media doesn't know us very well," Meyer said. "It's a ridiculous claim and simply not true."
Cam Newton said Meyer was a man of integrity.
"I would hope he wouldn't say anything like that," he said.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, who also recruited Newton out of Blinn, said he saw "nothing at all" out of the ordinary during that process.
"Our recruitment of Cameron could not have been better, or was just fine," Stoops said. "I didn't notice anything and none of our coaches did as we were recruiting him."
Joe Schad is a national college football reporter for ESPN. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
"I'm not going to entertain something that took place not three months, not six months, not a year but two years ago," Cam Newton said. "I'm not going to sit up here and say anything about it, whether I did or did not do it, because I don't want to beat a dead horse talking about it. It's not going to affect me any way, shape or fashion."
sounds like he might want to think about that again...lol
sounds like he might want to think about that again...lol
not sure if i got the wrong guy in mind but was he the guy that was asked "how do you stop Cam Newton?" to which he repplied "I don't wanna sound cocky or anything but seriously, i got all the tools and you can only hope to contain me"......and not joking....100% serious
if so, i'm not a fan of his
if so, i'm not a fan of his
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/col...andal-auburn-cam-newton-college-football.html
On the field, the game is more popular than ever, and I have a pet theory. The spectacular ascent of fantasy football has changed our allegiances in the NFL. The local franchise still matters, but on Sundays, we cheer loudest for our team. The one we handpicked in a fantasy draft and fret over all week. The one that might win us money.
Cam Newton scandal at Auburn exposing college football
College football should be quarantined and cured. Or it should be embraced as a rigged pig of American capitalism, and cut free from the academic process.
Enforce the rules vigorously or turn the sport into minor-league football.
Just stop the B.S., please. It's making us all look bad.
Enforce the rules vigorously or turn the sport into minor-league football.
Just stop the B.S., please. It's making us all look bad.
On the field, the game is more popular than ever, and I have a pet theory. The spectacular ascent of fantasy football has changed our allegiances in the NFL. The local franchise still matters, but on Sundays, we cheer loudest for our team. The one we handpicked in a fantasy draft and fret over all week. The one that might win us money.
NFL fans have become empowered mercenaries, just like the players. And left behind is the need to identify with a real team, a void easily filled by college football.
"Look at these college seasons," LSU coach Les Miles said. "I can't imagine anything more entertaining or enjoyable to view than 18- to 22-year-olds fighting for the school and their state and their community."
Yet the sport also is under another credibility siege. Already this season, Reggie Bush became the first player to return his Heisman Trophy in the award's 75-year history. He said it was "definitely not an admission of guilt." He thinks we're as stupid as he is.
Now comes the compelling narrative of Cam Newton, where allegations are piling up that the gifted quarterback was sold to Auburn for $180,000 because the money was too good, even though the young man longed to play for Mississippi State.
Greg Byrne, now the athletic director at Arizona, knows a lot about this story. He was Mississippi State's athletic director at the time, and allegedly alerted to Newton's price tag in December 2009. Byrne declined comment and won't discuss the ordeal, but it's clear that Newton should have been on the NCAA's radar screen for many months now.
Instead, Auburn is unbeaten and gunning for a national championship. Newton is the overwhelming Heisman Trophy favorite, and has denied all wrongdoing. Will they win it all in Glendale, only to give it all back at a later date? Will the weight of the story sack them for a loss? Will Heisman voters play judge and jury, casting ballots on suspicion alone?
For the first time, we're watching a real scandal in real time, like O.J. Simpson rolling along in the white Ford Bronco.
"Cameron Newton will be playing Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said Wednesday.
It's the same old story of corruption in college athletics, of course, but as others have pointed out, it's a different world when you're dealing with the FBI, the IRS and TMZ. And if the allegations are true, the backlash will be severe.
If the allegations are false, then the SEC will be seriously fractured from the in-house attempts to derail Newton and the Tigers, and it's the untimely snitching that seems to have thrown everyone for a loss.
Proof: During a Wednesday teleconference, Florida coach Urban Meyer again emphasized he did not leak information that Newton was facing expulsion for three cases of academic cheating while enrolled at Florida ("I was very supportive of Cam when he left here, and Cam and his family know that"). Yet he claimed he only spoke up because his athletic director insisted. ("I didn't want to do it, to be honest with you, but I felt that, you know, whatever they tell me to do, I'll do").
This scandal involves the best player in college football. It involves the most powerful conference in the sport and the most zealous fans on the planet. It will consume the rest of the season. And lost in the hunt is that Newton was "supported" at Florida after three cases of alleged academic cheating.
I'm guessing non-athletic students wouldn't be so lucky, and that hypocrisy continually tears at the image of our universities.
But that's college football, where agents shop players, where the BCS is described as a cartel, where the going rate for a premium quarterback could be $200,000, and an underdog like Boise State can beat every team in its path and never get a chance to play for a championship.
How very un-American.
Or maybe it's just like us. And that's frightening.
Reach Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Read his online column at bickley.azcentral.com.
"Look at these college seasons," LSU coach Les Miles said. "I can't imagine anything more entertaining or enjoyable to view than 18- to 22-year-olds fighting for the school and their state and their community."
Yet the sport also is under another credibility siege. Already this season, Reggie Bush became the first player to return his Heisman Trophy in the award's 75-year history. He said it was "definitely not an admission of guilt." He thinks we're as stupid as he is.
Now comes the compelling narrative of Cam Newton, where allegations are piling up that the gifted quarterback was sold to Auburn for $180,000 because the money was too good, even though the young man longed to play for Mississippi State.
Greg Byrne, now the athletic director at Arizona, knows a lot about this story. He was Mississippi State's athletic director at the time, and allegedly alerted to Newton's price tag in December 2009. Byrne declined comment and won't discuss the ordeal, but it's clear that Newton should have been on the NCAA's radar screen for many months now.
Instead, Auburn is unbeaten and gunning for a national championship. Newton is the overwhelming Heisman Trophy favorite, and has denied all wrongdoing. Will they win it all in Glendale, only to give it all back at a later date? Will the weight of the story sack them for a loss? Will Heisman voters play judge and jury, casting ballots on suspicion alone?
For the first time, we're watching a real scandal in real time, like O.J. Simpson rolling along in the white Ford Bronco.
"Cameron Newton will be playing Saturday against the Georgia Bulldogs," Auburn coach Gene Chizik said Wednesday.
It's the same old story of corruption in college athletics, of course, but as others have pointed out, it's a different world when you're dealing with the FBI, the IRS and TMZ. And if the allegations are true, the backlash will be severe.
If the allegations are false, then the SEC will be seriously fractured from the in-house attempts to derail Newton and the Tigers, and it's the untimely snitching that seems to have thrown everyone for a loss.
Proof: During a Wednesday teleconference, Florida coach Urban Meyer again emphasized he did not leak information that Newton was facing expulsion for three cases of academic cheating while enrolled at Florida ("I was very supportive of Cam when he left here, and Cam and his family know that"). Yet he claimed he only spoke up because his athletic director insisted. ("I didn't want to do it, to be honest with you, but I felt that, you know, whatever they tell me to do, I'll do").
This scandal involves the best player in college football. It involves the most powerful conference in the sport and the most zealous fans on the planet. It will consume the rest of the season. And lost in the hunt is that Newton was "supported" at Florida after three cases of alleged academic cheating.
I'm guessing non-athletic students wouldn't be so lucky, and that hypocrisy continually tears at the image of our universities.
But that's college football, where agents shop players, where the BCS is described as a cartel, where the going rate for a premium quarterback could be $200,000, and an underdog like Boise State can beat every team in its path and never get a chance to play for a championship.
How very un-American.
Or maybe it's just like us. And that's frightening.
Reach Bickley at dan.bickley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8253. Read his online column at bickley.azcentral.com.
