State of the Game 2011 - The Cam Fallout

Fixing the scandals, Cam Newton, the Longhorn Network, and more. Along with the CFNers, check out the opinions on key topics going into the season from Matt Hayes from the Sporting News and the Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein.

State of the Game 

The Cam Controversy

2011 CFN State of the Game Topics  
- Should The Death Penalty Be On The Table? 
- What One Thing Can Stop The Cheating? | Bloggers Analysis
- How To Fix The NCAA | Bloggers Analysis
- Is There Institutional Control? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Cam Newton Situation | Bloggers Analysis
- Was Stanley McClover Telling The Truth? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should Players Get a Bigger Stipend? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should a one-loss SEC team play for it all? | Bloggers Analysis
- Why isn't there a playoff? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Programs About To Blow Up | Bloggers Analysis
- Does The Longhorn Network Matter? | Bloggers Analysis
- What'll Happen In Ten Years? | Bloggers Analysis
- When Should Players Turn Pro? | Bloggers Analysis
- What's Your Beef? The Biggest Complaints | Bloggers Analysis

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Question No. 4: What do you believe actually happened in the Cam Newton controversy? 

E-mail Pete Fiutak

I don't care. I don't say that because the story is over or because I think the case is closed and everything shook out the way it's supposed to; I'm saying Cam Newton won the Heisman, he's now a multi-millionaire, Auburn won the national title, and nothing can change what we all saw. Alabama isn't going to win the Iron Bowl if the NCAA uncovers something juicy.

I cared in November when the story was blowing up, but what's done is done and nothing can unring the bell.

My biggest issue with the Reggie Bush fiasco is that the NCAA thought it could come up with some sort of penalty and some semblance of payback by blowing USC out of the water. Meanwhile, Bush was off making millions while winning a Super Bowl and smooching with Kim Kardashian. With Newton, the NCAA had its chance to make a statement, and it had its chance to interpret its rulebook a certain way by calling Cecil Newton an agent, and it chose to let Cam play and to keep the Auburn dream season alive.

If there was any sort of a untoward reason why Newton chose to go to Auburn, again, that window has shut, and while many might want the program to pay for what they speculate might have happened, the college football libertarian in me overtakes the one that hates the idea of programs thumbing their noses at the system.

Let's say there really was something ugly happening, like Newton's dad getting the $180,000 he was looking for. Vacated wins and a returned Heisman wouldn't mean anything, just like no one really cares that there's an asterisk where Bush's name should be on the list of Heisman winners. I'd care more if this was about academic integrity, or real laws being broken, or a cover-up to keep someone out of jail, but with the possible exception of tax laws, depending on whether or not there was a payment transfer, all the bickering and all the weeping and gnashing of teeth is over the NCAA's silly rulebook that's about to be changed in the near future. 

I suspect there's more to the story, and while I don't think Auburn paid to have Newton come to play quarterback, I suspect the NCAA will find something it doesn't like at some point down the road. 

Newton had the greatest season of any quarterback in the history of college football, he won the Heisman, and Auburn won the national title. No possible NCAA punishment can take that away now.

By Matt Hayes
Sporting News

His father shopped him around for cash. I don’t know if Auburn paid him, and I wouldn’t want to speculate on it.

By Richard Cirminiello

My hunch is the same as most everyone else’s—that Newton knew all along that his father was shopping his services around. Call it a gut feeling.

By Matt Zemek

Oh, I don’t care to speculate here. I know that Cecil Newton tried to shop Cam Newton, which is supposed to be a big no-no. I know that a violation was publicly acknowledged and mutually agreed upon by all parties. I know that the presence of a violation was met with no meaningful sanction or penalty. I know that, even though Cecil Newton’s violation was essentially unpunished, the crooked lines of justice were drawn correctly: In a fair society, Cam Newton should be allowed to make money in exchange for making so many cash registers ping with purpose in Auburn, Alabama’s merchandise shops and Jordan-Hare Stadium ticket windows.

By Barrett Sallee
Follow me on Twitter: @BarrettSallee

I believe what is being passed off as a solicitation by Cecil Newton was more of a conversation among several parties. The NCAA handled it the best they could, because had it kept Newton ineligible, it would have opened up a door that would allow anyone off the streets to suggest that a player’s family solicited money in order to render that player ineligible. The NCAA doesn’t need that type of drama (even though recent legislature may, sadly, make that a reality).

I also believe that fans and media have jumped to far too many conclusions. The facts are that no legitimate report has even tied Auburn to the controversy at all, but yet Auburn’s season is the one thing that’s been tarnished most – at least in the minds of some. It’s also sad that people assume they know the Newton family dynamics based on TV reports magazine articles. Nobody knows the true inner-workings except the Newton’s. It was a textbook case of being “guilty until being proven innocent,” and it’s sad.

2011 CFN State of the Game Topics  
- Should The Death Penalty Be On The Table? 
- What One Thing Can Stop The Cheating? | Bloggers Analysis
- How To Fix The NCAA | Bloggers Analysis
- Is There Institutional Control? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Cam Newton Situation | Bloggers Analysis
- Was Stanley McClover Telling The Truth? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should Players Get a Bigger Stipend? | Bloggers Analysis
- Should a one-loss SEC team play for it all? | Bloggers Analysis
- Why isn't there a playoff? | Bloggers Analysis
- The Programs About To Blow Up | Bloggers Analysis
- Does The Longhorn Network Matter? | Bloggers Analysis
- What'll Happen In Ten Years? | Bloggers Analysis
- When Should Players Turn Pro? | Bloggers Analysis
- What's Your Beef? The Biggest Complaints | Bloggers Analysis

LIMITED TIME ONLY: CLICK HERE for a Free Week of Top-Rated Selections

- Suggestions or something we missed? Let us know
- Follow us ... http://twitter.com/ColFootballNews