Vince Lombardi said winning isn't everything, it's the only thing.
That quote has stuck in my head as the Cam Newton controversy has swirled around the college football world.
If you're a sports fan, you know the story. And, according to the Birmingham News, it appears that Newton's father, Cecil, admitted to the possibilities of solicitation, but said the rest of his family didn't know and neither did Auburn.
The school creed asks to "believe in Auburn." Excuse me if I don't.
Do I believe John Bond and Mississippi State? Absolutely. For one, Bond has nothing to gain with this issue. Second, MSU sent warning to the SEC in January. They, nor anyone else at the time, were aware that Newton would be a one-man force; the best player in college football at the moment. Third, since this story broke, Bond's story, as well as State's, have not wavered. Cecil Newton and Kenny Rogers, however, have made some changes here and there.
Take an objective view here: If Guy A and Guy B tell you two different sides to a story, but Guy B changes his story around a couple of days later, which guy are you most likely to believe?
Meanwhile, on the Plains, the Tiger athletic department has gone from a vigorous defense to a complete sea of no comments. Auburn's take is simple: they've won with Cam, they know they can't win without Cam, so rain or shine, they're playing Cam all the way through.
When you hire a law professor from heated rival Alabama, that's a sign they're willing to fight until the end, even if the NCAA rules state otherwise. They're going to thumb their nose at the rest of the college football world. Ineligible or not; they're going with the man that got them there.
This bravado could bite them, but not before thousands of division title shirts and hats are sold. Add conference title and possible BCS title souvenirs and Auburn knows it's worth risking the wrath of the NCAA to dance in the flames of scandal. They've done it time and time again.
Five times, Auburn has committed major NCAA violations. It seems as whenever Alabama wins a national title in football, Auburn gets caught with both hands in the cookie jar. Then again, even Auburn's national title, in 1957, came from the AP despite a bowl ban from Auburn being ... that's right ... on probation.
Auburn is "all in" all right. All in for themselves.
The NCAA rule isn't that opaque when it comes to solicitation. They've said it often this past week that "the solicitation of cash or benefits by a prospective student-athlete or another individual on his or her behalf is not allowed under NCAA rules."
So, sadly for college football, and for Cam Newton, even if you take Cecil's word that he was oblivious to the matter, Newton should be declared ineligible, a decision that haunts college football at its core. It puts a black cloud on the Heisman, whether Newton gets it, or whether he doesn't, when the nation knows he's in a class by himself on the field.
For football's sake, Auburn needs to lose. The less awards bestowed upon the Tigers this year, the less chance for an epic catastrophe to hit the football world. Sure, it won't pull Auburn out of the fire, but at least we'd assure ourselves of not seeing the national title pulled this season.
Had Georgia hung on to that 14-point lead, at least this issue would've lost some fire. There would have been a sigh amongst the football purists. At least, if anything, controversies surrounding the BCS title game would've circled around making the choice between TCU and Boise and not something as sickening as this.
We're used to the former. The latter paints an awful picture.
November 15, 2010
$cam Newton:
WEGL WEGL War $cam Eagle!
November 15, 2010
BR-ATL:
Precisely because Auburn has been on probation in the past and has had trouble controlling rogue boosters, it is unlikely that they entered into a pay for play arrangement for Cam Newton. Auburn knows better than most schools how hard it is to come back from NCAA penalties; it takes years and its not worth the short term gain. Exhibit A - Miami; one could argue that they have been irrelevant for the last 8 years or more.
The current coach, Gene Chizik has numerous million dollar compensation penalties in his contract if the team is out of compliance with the NCAA. Auburn is serious about compliance and has one of the toughest compliance offices in college football. The team has not been on probation of any kind in almost 20 years.
Mississippi State is the school that employed Jackie Sherrill for Christ sakes; Florida had 117 NCAA violations under Charlie Pell. At Alabama, a renegade booster paid a high school coach in Memphis $200k for Albert Means to commit to the Tide.
The common thread here is that rogue boosters are hard to control if not impossible. Every State Farm agent and every Chevy dealer in every small town is a big shot booster for some college football team. They are not official representatives of a school, but their activities are impossible to control. For you to rage against Auburn is naive. This is a problem in Norman, Austin, Tuscaloosa, Los Angeles, and on and on. You have no clue. Is this the first article you have written about college football. Grow up.
November 15, 2010
Wtimbeng:
I suggest you check your facts. Auburn is not implicated by MSU, John Bond, Kenny Rogers or anyone else. Kenny Rogers story has changed at least twice. John Bond’s version doesn’t click yet either. MSU dropped the ball and so did the SEC. Auburn has not hired an Alabama Law professor. He happens to do consulting work with the law firm representing Auburn but, to date, doesn’t seem involved in this issue. Did something happen here? Obviously. Do we know all the facts? No. You “journalists” take every crumb and try to create grist. It’s obvious you’re no journalist because you didn’t fact check your story. You relied on other publications. Lazy and irresponsible. Why is Auburn giving “No comment” you ask. Because lazy reporters like you treat rumor and innuendo like fact and would rather breathlessly report the dirt rather than check the facts. They owe you nothing until the FACTS are in. And they are apparently not in yet.
November 15, 2010
t vickrey:
The way I heard from sources is MSU thought they had Cam in the bag because of Mullen but during the recruiting process Cam said that he was still looking at schools, so MSU offered the the big bucks to get him to commit and he didn’t in fact he freaked out because he knew the rules on that sort of thing. He chose Auburn and MSU thought he might report what they offered and decided the best defense would be offense by putting out to the NCAA first which would put Cam on the defense and the media rolled with it. Things to consider.. all the coaches at the other recruiting schools said nothing went down like that with them… NCAA is in MSU not Auburn and Auburn hasn’t benched him or suspended him and he sure doesn’t act affected by it all. Rogers did mention he called Bill Bell for money which is kind of looking like that was normal to look for money…School tipically get in trouble for benefits not players….Looks fishy to me..just don’t add up…There is not one person from the school that has said they were there for the offer. I would think if the coaches were there they would be screaming about it… but they aren’t and the rest of the stories are from unknown sources or sources close to the situation and John Bond (booster) Kenny Rogers ( being investigated by NFL for misrepresenting himself) and Bill Bell (Booster)…all money people… just saying….looks suspicious on MSU not Cam or Auburn
November 15, 2010
Rick:
Guys calm down. For $99 you can have a site just like this. Hey, sleep until noon wake up with a glass of vodka and read the blogs. Then you can be an expert website owner in your jam jams.
What a life.
November 15, 2010
John:
In 1976, Neuberger took a position with Hunt Refining Company in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I wonder what team you pull for?
November 15, 2010
War f'ing eagle:
Good catch, John!
November 16, 2010
Ray:
“The FEWER awards bestowed upon the Tigers this year, the less chance for an epic catastrophe to hit the football world.”
Cute story there precious. I sure hope you didn’t wake Nicky up when you rolled over to type that.
November 16, 2010
Fred Jones:
bottom line. cam newton and auburn will probably be caught b/c too many people were involved in this scandal. if you want to cheat, you need to limit the # of people who know about it and make sure not to screw anyone. that is how we learned about reggie bush, his “college advisor” never got paid.
if cam cheated on tests at FL, then he should not get the heismann, simple. it reveals a lot about a person to be caught 3X. he felt above the rules. look, many students in college cheat but they aren’t up for the heismann either. there has to be some type of standard here.
if an auburn alum paid cam without anyone knowing then cam should be ineligible and the coaches, recruiters and AD need to go. that is the only way to deal with this bs, it is not fair but neither is life.
hardly any fathers would not solicit on their son’s behalf w/o telling them. whether cam knew or not is irrelevant, he has to pay for the fathers ineptitude.
November 16, 2010
David:
When did Cecil change his story? It was reported by a Georgia source that a source close to the story said he did. This came out in Georgia Thursday evening just before the Auburn / Georgia game. Jean Neuberger, do you think the Georgia article may have been wishful thinking. God knows what you will write next week when Auburn plays Alabama. Hint, start reading the Tuscaloosa Times for leadup to Jean’s next article.
November 16, 2010
Anthony Brancato:
Rick,
You know absolutely nothing about the founder of this site. I do - and to keep it as civil as possible, you are way, way off base.
November 16, 2010
robert wallace:
What a waste of a keyboard. You really believe John Bond and Kenny Rogers? Bond has changed his story twice. He first said he talked to Rogers, then hadnt talked to him in 20 years but heard through two or three people he was shopping cam. Now he is saying he absolutely talked to Rogers. I believe when the FBI became involved he realized he better get his s**t straight. “Auburn needs to lose”? Why? So a elephant fan like yourself can feel better about themselves? And FYI, Auburn hasnt hired a lawyer from UA to represent them. He just happens to be a consultant for the law firm that is assisting Auburn. And so far he has nothing to do with this case. Why dont you learn what the hell your talking about before you write an article?
November 16, 2010
tim:
Sounds like we have alot of insiders on here that have this story nailed. This whole group of AWBARN cool-aid drinkers need to get real and take a look at your stories. Nobody knows the whole truth and those who think they do then send it to the NCAA and help your beloved TIGERS restore there chances at keeping the title. If you don’t have the facts to back up what you say then your no better then the people breaking these stories.
November 17, 2010
BEST college player in History:
The title says it all. Of course, you will see many article like this one trying to bring Auburn and Cam down. Let’s take a look at some of those; Who are the writer’s backing in college football? Who are they partial too? Where did they go to college? Do they have a business to make money on scanty articles that grab the attention of rage invested fans ready to support there cause? Everyone needs to back off and look at the big picture. This whole country is based on crap like this and it needs to stop. Let Auburn, Cam, and the NCAA deal with this and take your War Eagle Whuppin like a man! Bunch of sissy’s.
November 17, 2010
Austin:
Another guy that thinks he can write and is just mad that Auburn is making it. Typical, can I say, BAMMER. You should really look at how much Bama has been on probation, I mean come on man. Also, how can you bring up a national title issue? At least 5 of Alabama’s “national titles” were self appointed when there was no game! READ UP BRO!
WAR EAGLE!
November 17, 2010
Larry:
I’m appalled by the bad behavior of many who left comments. I’d rather argue talking points by sticking to the material at hand. No need for gratuitous sexual innuendo. This is the first time I’ve read Jean’s column. I have some disagreement also; but they way you guys handle yourselves make me sad for you. I wish you guys a speedy recovery from the depths of your depravity.
November 17, 2010
WAR EAGLE:
You can tell whoever wrote this is from the north! The college football world does not want to see the sec win another championship and why would auburn not play him? There is no concrete evidence of any wrongdoing. Whether or not the solicitation of a player is a violation is interesting because if it was such a violation, wouldn’t the ncaa declare him ineligible???????????? OK
November 18, 2010
Henry:
Is any of this really going to matter when Oregon puts 60 points on the board and wins the BCS title?
November 20, 2010
claude:
60 points you guys with yall sissy ass team,auburn will destroy oregon, the national tittle game should be a rematch with auburn and lsu,and you know what that could possibly happen,then the whole nation would watch that game including you guys!