NCAA investigating Cam Newton?

[enuegii]

During the height of star quarterback Cam Newton's recruitment out of junior college last year, a man saying he represented Newton allegedly was soliciting a six-figure payment to secure his signature on a national letter-of-intent, ESPN.com has learned.

Former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond told ESPN.com a teammate of Bond's at Mississippi State in the early 1980s contacted him soon after Newton's official visit to Mississippi State during the Ole Miss game in December, and said he was representing Newton.

"He said it would take some cash to get Cam," Bond said. "I called our athletic director, Greg Byrne, and he took it from there. That was pretty much it." Multiple sources told ESPN.com that Mississippi State called the SEC office with Bond's information shortly after he brought it to the attention of the school..."


More at ESPN.com

Well, it's already been a wild season in the SEC, so why not?

[Condem]

1. Auburn cheat? That would be a first. For the school and the SEC.

Not really.

[joeybee12]

2. I refuse to believe facts that would smear the glorious SEC!!! nt

[Condem]

3. Better yet, joey. eSECpn is reporting it.

Top notch reporting...TOP NOTCH!! Now. How 'bout a Fresca?

[joeybee12]

10. This might ruin the BCSEC playoff system!!!! nt

[GaYellowDawg]

17. "BCSEC"?

The SEC has had the best team in the nation the past 4 years. Better than anyone in the PAC-10, the Big 12, the ACC, the Big East, and yes, even your precious and consistently overrated Big 10. The "BCSEC" bullshit just makes you look like a dumbass.

[joeybee12]

25. Since I am a fan of America's most Beloved and adored Team, Notre Dame,

why should I care about the Big 10, dumbass? :evilgrin:

[madinmaryland]

4. I wonder when the SEC apologists will weigh in on this??

Hmmm. Are there any left. I heard from BossHog in nearly a year.

[Elwood P Dowd]

6. Where is the proof other than one former MSU player claiming the other former MSU player offered to

land MSU a recruit for $180,000?

[era veteran]

8. Good thing you have the SEC to blame, we know the

other conferences are pristine & lily white.

[GaYellowDawg]

18. Hey, if Auburn paid Cam, then fuck 'em.

I say that as a Georgia fan. :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[Elwood P Dowd]

5. Two former Mississippi State players - one claims the other says he could get Cam

for $180,000. Sounds like bullshit to me. If someone paid the Newton family that kind of money, why does old man Newton ride around in a beat up old Caddy? Why does Cam ride around town on a little Vespa? They sure don't live like people who just came into a huge amount of money. This story started back in July. Why would Chizik risk losing his 2 million dollar a year job by playing Cam if there was anything to this? Why does ESPN want to push it now?





ESPN was told the former teammate is Kenny Rogers, who played at Mississippi State from 1982-85. Rogers operates a Chicago-based company called Elite Football Preparation, which holds camps in Chicago, Alabama and Mississippi. Rogers and his partner, agent Ian Greengross, have been scrutinized by the NFLPA and NCAA.

NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis told ESPN.com on Thursday the organization is "in the process of investigating (Rogers and Greengross) as we speak for violations of our rules and regulations."

Cecil Newton, Cameron's father, denied any wrongdoing to ESPN.com.

"If Rogers tried to solicit money from Mississippi State, he did it on his own, without our knowledge," Cecil Newton said.

Cecil Newton said the family received a letter from the NCAA "about a month ago" asking for financial statements. He said he submitted bank statements and records for the church where he is pastor, Holy Zion Center of Deliverance in Newnan, Ga.

[TZ]

9. Maybe he's not stupid: anyone recall an obscure player named

Reggie Bush? I think I recall him getting in lots of trouble...
Its quite easy to accept large amounts of money but not spend it in OBVIOUS ways. Not saying he's guilty of this, but just because he's not driving a flashy car or living in a huge house doesn't mean he's not getting money.

And I would only find the timing "odd" if this came out a day or two before a playoff or championship game.

[enuegii]

7. Timing does seem odd. nt

[RT Atlanta]

11. AU - perspective

I am biased (AU is my alma mater), but there certainly seems to be a lot innuendo out there of the "guilty" until proven innocent variety.

It sux, because all of this negative press (even if completely unfounded) has served others' interests well by tarnishing AU's good season so far and Cam's stellar play - perhaps this has already cost him the Heisman.

Further, all of the press so far relates to Miss. State and not Auburn University. Apparently, Auburn has known about this for a while and its compliance dept has cleared Newton to play. Further, AU seems to be hamstrung by NCAA rules (I dont know which one(s)) that limit further comment. Last night Gene Chizik re-iterated that Cam Newton is eligible to play football and that should speak volumes about Auburn's position on the matter - why would it want to jeopardize or further jeopardize the season by playing Newton (see UGA suspending its player a few months back for selling his jersey as a contra example).

The linked article was written by a very well-regarded AU magazine and message board operator:

http://auburn.scout.com/2/1018704.html

War Eagle!

[hughee99]

12. I'm not sure there's anything to it, but if Newton turns out to be ineligible later on...

Auburn is already F'd. It's not like there's any advantage to sitting him at this point.

[Elwood P Dowd]

15. Does the NCAA have evidence Cam Newton might have been dealing with an agent?

If they did, they would have told Auburn to bench him until this was cleared up, just like they did many other schools this year with questions about agents.

We now learn that John Bond never even talked to the so called agent but learned of this second hand from another Mississippi State booster who claimed to have talked to the agent. We're talking about 3 Mississippi State boosters involved in this a story. Newton chose Auburn over Mississippi State. The agent, also a Mississippi State grad, said he hasn't talked to John Bond in 20 years and has no idea why his name even came up in the discussion.

There has been a shit load of backtracking going on today with the exception of ESPN who broke the original story. According to a few, not all, of the ESPN scumbags, Cam is guilty until proven innocent based totally on what some Mississippi State boosters said in a he-said, she-said, he said article written by.........ESPN.

[hughee99]

16. I suspect this may be a lot of horseshit,

but from Auburn's standpoint, unless they're told by the SEC to bench him, why would they?

If it does turn out that he's ineligible, they have to forfeit all their games to this point, so they're already F'd. Sitting him for future games won't make a difference (it won't save their season). If it turns out that this is just a lot of crap, they won't lose him for a game because they benched him over unsubstantiated charges that turned out to be false (or at the least, unproven).

The problem with this sort of thing, is that, much like steroids, it's happened enough that many people's mindset is to assume the worst and presume guilt until cleared. Even if he is cleared, there will still be some who will claim that it was all true and the investigation was rigged.

[Elwood P Dowd]

13. Auburn is not fucked because he has been cleared to play by the NCAA compliance division.

The only way Auburn would be forced to forfeit would be that they misled the NCAA and the SEC. Knowing what I know about Auburn's NCAA compliance guy, I seriously doubt that has happened. He has turned down several recruits in both football and basketball that has thoroughly pissed off certain coaches. These players are now playing at other D-1 schools. Look at the basketball recruit that is now at UMass after compliance rejected him. It caused a big stink with certain fans because the player was qualified, but the compliance guy had questions about his grades. UMass and other schools that wanted him had no problems. There are also football players at Ole Miss, one of Auburn's SEC West rivals, this guy rejected after Auburn signed them.

[JonLP24]

14. I'm noticing a weird glitch

Post #13 is replying to post #15.

LOL now I'm #14, you're 13, and hughee is 16.

[hughee99]

19. So if it were to be true and he were ineligible

Auburn wouldn't have to forfeit the games? They're only forced to forfeit if the intentionally mislead the NCAA or SEC? I thought ineligible was ineligible, and while they may avoid other sanctions for not knowing about it, they still have to forfeit the games.

[JonLP24]

21. I know you didn't say otherwise

but looking into the issue recently, as far as I can tell, Auburn hasn't been accused of doing anything. Only thing there is that the agent tried to get $180,000 from Mississippi State for Cam. Now it is entirely possible (if Miss St thing is true) that he was rejected by MSU and then signed with Auburn for no money. That reflects poorly on Cam and not at all on Auburn, how were they supposed to know the agent offered Miss. St. cash? I'm not sure how sanctions would play out if trying to get money from Mississippi State turned out to be true but nothing in regards to Auburn.

I'm just saying this because after re-reading the thread there were questions such as why are the Newtons driving crappy vehicles? And other comments related to Auburn's role in this. It could be Auburn and Cam did nothing wrong together but he did something wrong with Mississippi State(if the accusations are true).

[hughee99]

24. I'm just wondering because even if Auburn didn't do anything wrong,

if they won games with what turns out to be an ineligible player (for example, if he got money from someone NOT affiliated with Auburn) doesn't Auburn still have to forfeit the games? Even if Auburn is found to have done nothing wrong, and no other action is taken against them, they still won games with an ineligible player.

I'll admit, I'm not 100% sure how that works, but that's how I thought it did. I'm thinking back to Marcus Camby at UMass who was taking money from agents, and even though I don't remember the school receiving any other punishments, they did have their trip to the final 4 vacated and had to return the revenue they got from the NCAA tournament (about $150K if I remember, that Camby later repaid to the University).

[JonLP24]

20. Source: Newton left Florida after cheating scandal

<snip>

Newton was arrested for the theft of a laptop from a Florida student’s dorm room in November 2008. He again violated the university’s honor code by putting his name on another student’s paper and turning it in, according to the source. Newton was caught after the instructor asked the real author of the paper why he had not turned in his work, the source said.

According to the source, after the student said he had turned in a paper, he and the instructor went through all the submissions and discovered that Newton had put his name on the paper in question.

Newton subsequently turned in a second paper to the instructor, but it was later found to have been purchased off the Internet, according to the source. The source said Newton was to appear for a hearing in front of Florida’s Student Conduct Committee during the spring semester of 2009, but instead transferred to Blinn College.

The committee could have levied sanctions against Newton that included suspension and expulsion from the university.

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/aurburn-cam-newton-say-everythings-all-right-110610

I emphasize at this point it is an anonymous source and nothing has been proven to this and other allegations AFAIK. Even if he is guilty of this or that we probably won't find out til a few years pass .

Latest news on the Mississippi State situation.

Newton: 'I didn't do anything wrong'

Auburn quarterback Cam Newton says he ''didn't do anything wrong'' amid allegations that a man tried to secure payment from Mississippi State during the Heisman Trophy hopeful's recruitment.

Newton said Friday just before stepping on the bus to the team's hotel in Montgomery ahead of Saturday's game with Chattanooga that he's ''sure the smoke will settle.'' He says he's holding up just fine, that he's had ''worse days.''

A person familiar with the situation tells The Associated Press that Auburn has had ''no contact whatsoever'' with Kenny Rogers. The former Mississippi State player has been identified by ESPN.com, citing unidentified people, as the person soliciting payment from that school.

The person tells AP that Newton's eligibility ''has never been in jeopardy.''

http://msn.foxsports.com/collegefootball/story/Auburn-QB-Cam-Newton%3A-I-did-not-do-anything-wrong
.

[RT Atlanta]

22. FERPA violation by UF - send your complaints here

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-5920
Phone: 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327)

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/index.html

Here's the link :

http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/inde x.html

Here's the text :

Family Policy Compliance Office (FPCO) Home

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA gives parents certain rights with respect to their children's education records. These rights transfer to the student when he or she reaches the age of 18 or attends a school beyond the high school level. Students to whom the rights have transferred are "eligible students."

Parents or eligible students have the right to inspect and review the student's education records maintained by the school. Schools are not required to provide copies of records unless, for reasons such as great distance, it is impossible for parents or eligible students to review the records. Schools may charge a fee for copies.

Parents or eligible students have the right to request that a school correct records which they believe to be inaccurate or misleading. If the school decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student then has the right to a formal hearing. After the hearing, if the school still decides not to amend the record, the parent or eligible student has the right to place a statement with the record setting forth his or her view about the contested information.

Generally, schools must have written permission from the parent or eligible student in order to release any information from a student's education record. However, FERPA allows schools to disclose those records, without consent, to the following parties or under the following conditions (34 CFR § 99.31):

School officials with legitimate educational interest;
Other schools to which a student is transferring;
Specified officials for audit or evaluation purposes;
Appropriate parties in connection with financial aid to a student;
Organizations conducting certain studies for or on behalf of the school;
Accrediting organizations;
To comply with a judicial order or lawfully issued subpoena;
Appropriate officials in cases of health and safety emergencies; and
State and local authorities, within a juvenile justice system, pursuant to specific State law.
Schools may disclose, without consent, "directory" information such as a student's name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, honors and awards, and dates of attendance. However, schools must tell parents and eligible students about directory information and allow parents and eligible students a reasonable amount of time to request that the school not disclose directory information about them. Schools must notify parents and eligible students annually of their rights under FERPA. The actual means of notification (special letter, inclusion in a PTA bulletin, student handbook, or newspaper article) is left to the discretion of each school.

For additional information, you may call 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327) (voice). Individuals who use TDD may call 1-800-437-0833.

Or you may contact us at the following address:

Family Policy Compliance Office
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202-8520

[hughee99]

27. Did the information actually come from the University of Florida?

It seems that if the story was leaked by someone who knew what happened but didn't work for the School (like a classmate or teammate), there's not a case here.

[RT Atlanta]

23. From AU's Athtletics Director

Jay Jacobs:

“In the past 24 hours, a lot of allegations have surfaced that date back two years ago and further. These allegations and rumors about Cam Newton are unfortunate and sad because they seem intent on tearing down the reputation of a young man who has done everything we’ve asked him to do. Cam has been and continues to be completely honest with us. Cam is, by all accounts, a great kid. Any discussion of academic records is a clear violation of federal privacy laws. We will not go down that path or stoop to that level as others have apparently done. We will, however, emphatically say that Cam is eligible to play football at Auburn University both academically and athletically. I am proud of this young man and the progress he has made to be a better football player and a better man. We are truly blessed that Cam is a part of the Auburn family, and we support him 100 percent.”

[jakefrep]

26. Hell, I'd demand money to play at Mississippi State too.

Unless someone produces evidence that money actually changed hands, why is this a story?

[RT Atlanta]

28. Not sure

But some of the reasons that stand out to me include the fact that:

Cam's black...

he's the Heisman front runner

he has prior issues at UF (although all charges were dropped after a pre-trial intervention program was completed)

he's been amazingly successful...

Auburn is involved and however much I dislike it, Auburn has past history with NCAA infractions, including pay to play

Auburn is currently No. 2 in the BCS...

This makes for a "good story" with the press, or at least an attention-getting one.



Auburn is going to get hammered if it did anything wrong or untoward with the recruitment and playing of Cam Newton. However, the school and athletic dept knew about the MSU allegations since at least the summer. Based on the prior issues with the NCAA, Auburn is extremely cautious and I have to believe wouldn't have played Newton if there was, in its opinion, even the possibility that any of the allegations were true. Time will tell and I hope that Newton & the school are cleared. Otherwise, AU will be recovering from the ill-effects for years to come (see Lame Kitten and So. Cal as the current example).

[joeybee12]

29. It's a violation whether or not money exchanged hands...there was

solicitation for it...allegedly, and if that can be proved, then there's a big problem.