The NCAA is playing with fire in Cam Newton ruling
If Cam Newton had nothing to do with his father shopping him around as if he were an item on eBay, then he shouldn’t be punished. That’s only fair. But what exactly is the NCAA saying when it deems Newton eligible and slaps his father on the wrist despite coming to a conclusion that rules had been broken?
In case you haven’t heard, Auburn will have its starting quarterback this Saturday for the SEC title game. And when/if the Tigers beat South Carolina, they’ll have him for the national championship as well.
This was all made possible by the NCAA, which ruled that a violation of Newton’s amateur status had occurred but he had nothing to do with it. He is now cleared to play and more than likely, he’ll win the Heisman because of the NCAA’s “findings.”
Newton’s father, Cecil, got the worst of it from the NCAA. He now only has “limited” access to Auburn’s football program during his son’s stay there. That’s right: he shops his son’s athletic skills to the highest bidder and then is told to lay low when he’s caught. When Reggie Bush and his family got caught accepting free housing, suits and cars, the USC program was dealt a two-year bowl ban and the loss of scholarships. When Dez Bryant had dinner with Deion Sanders (and subsequently lied to the NCAA about it), he was deemed ineligible for the rest of the 2009 season.
But Newton’s father tries to cash in on his son’s athletic talents and the only thing that happens to him is that someone will have to let him in the side door when he goes to the Georgia Dome this Saturday.
Again, I don’t think Cam should be punished if Cecil committed the wrongdoing. But what happens the next time a situation like this occurs? What’s stopping another father from shopping his son to two schools? After all, if he gets caught, he just has to make sure that his son had nothing to do with it and he’ll essentially get off without punishment.
The NCAA botched this one. If it wants to play tough with programs like USC and players like Bush and Bryant, then it should have played tough with the Newton’s, too. If Cam were made ineligible for the SEC title game and Auburn were to have been stripped of all its wins this year, then maybe the next father who tried to cash in would think twice about his actions. Maybe he would consider how Newton lost his chance to play for a national championship and win a Heisman and not taken the risk.
Instead, the NCAA just created a huge loophole for the next father with a gifted son.
Posted in: College Football
Tags: Anthony Stalter, Auburn Tigers, Cam Newton, Cam Newton eligible, Cam Newton suspension, Headlines
Wow! I wonder how much THAT cost Auburn?!!!
BTW, was anyone else annoyed as hell at the video graphic of Cam Newton nodding his head and pointing a football at us during the Alabama game? As if to say, “Yeah, I’m getting paid, bitches! And there’s nothing you can do about it!”
I’m not a fan of SC or Spurrier, but I hope they break both of Cam Newton’s legs!
The creation of a truck sized loophole is the only possible way to interpret the long term consequences of this ruling, you’re dead on.
This will mean shady parents seeking out deals while keeping their kids in plausible deniability, and will probably mean clean parents having to deal with more shady agents and boosters offering them deals they didn’t ask for and don’t want.
One has to remember, that even though Mr Newton did have “conversations” with a shady “agent-wanna-be”, the deal never went though. No that it makes it ok, but nothing happened (except for Kenny Rogers selling his story to ESPN). It was Rogers that opened the conversation regarding money (read ALL of Roger’s statements). Mr Newton (the only person not going to profit from his son’s talents) is the ONLY one being punsihed here. What about all the agents (Rogers and Bell as well) that knew what they were doing up front, and knew that it was a blatant violation of NCAA ethics????? No punishment there? I still believe there was something going on between Ms St and Rogers (alumni)- but we’ll never know the truth.
Sins of the Father – Shoudl Cam Newton be punished? The way I see it, he has been. The only one that really cared for his son is the only one that’s being punished.
I admit ( and so does he) that what he did was wrong (NOT Illegal), but the deal never went though – unlike Reggie Bush, who actually received compensation (and the coach was WELL aware of it).
I don’t see anyone ranting and cursing Alabama after the football players were not just receiving shoolbooks (that they has already gotten), but were selling them to other students.
The problem here isn’t what happened with Newton, it’s because of where Auburn stands – And no one wants to see another SEC team crowned National Champions.
Oh, and BTW – I beleive it was AUBURN – Not the NCAA – that banned Cecil Newton from access.
And anyone that that would wish injury to one of these kids – regardless of how you feel about hte team – is nothng more than stagnant pond scum (Jester)
[...] at the top of every UT basketball discussion. This was wholly the fault of Slive, who in the immediate aftermath of the Cam Newton situation and serious questions as to the credibility and integrity of his league, completely overcompensated [...]