Cam Newton: Will Cheating Allegations Kill His Heisman Hopes?
Will cheating allegations kill Cam Newton's Heisman hopes?
That is the question that will saturate the college football media this weekend and most likely the rest of the 2010 season.
We have yet to hear the full story about the most recent news that he cheated (three times) while he was a student at Florida. But in this day of Internet and ESPN, allegations alone can ruin a reputation or image.
Newton was without a doubt the favorite to win the Heisman this December. Until now.
Here are five reasons why the most recent allegations against Newton will cost him the Heisman, and five reasons it will not cost him the Heisman.
No. 5: No Heisman For Cam
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Reason: Reggie Bush
It's not fair to lump Newton in with the complicated history of Heisman Trophy candidates. It's bad enough that the future professional prospects (or lack there of) for Heisman candidates sometimes clouds the judgment of voters.
But Reggie Bush's very public and very recent scandal is going to play a factor when it comes to Newton.
Bush's Heisman season may have ended nearly five years ago, but in the award's long history, five years isn't that far removed. Furthermore, it was only this September that he actually returned the Heisman because of the allegations.
In the "real world" Bush (allegedly) taking money is probably a greater offense than Newton cheating on a few papers. But when the Heisman is a collegiate award and is supposed to be awarded to a great student/athlete, it might seem contradictory for voters to give him the award.
No. 5: Newton Still Wins The Heisman
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Reason: The Award Goes To The Best Player, Not The Best Person
Assuming that the recent allegations do not result in any ineligibility (can they if the claims are from three schools ago?) then, even if true, they shouldn't prevent him from winning the Heisman.
It certainly cost him votes in a "Model Citizen" race, but it should not cost him one vote in terms of best player in college football.
As of this moment, there is little question as to who the best player in college football was in 2010. If enough voters think his athletic skills are superior to whomever else, then they should have a right to vote for him...as long as he remains eligible by NCAA standards.
No. 4: No Heisman For Cam
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Reason: The Year Of The "Small Conference"
Boise State and/or TCU's presence in this year's national championship game is still a long way away. Even if they both win out, and Auburn and Oregon lose, that doesn't assure the "small conference" teams a trip to the title game.
But because they are both ranked inside the Top 4 of the AP, Coaches, and BCS standings, there is nothing "small" about teams in the WAC and Mountain West.
The BCS might ultimately keep the Broncos and/or the Horned Frogs from participating in a title game, and voters for the Heisman might try to make up for that likely scenario.
Anyone who votes for Boise State's Kellen Moore or TCU's Andy Dalton, would certainly be snubbing LaMichael James and Newton, but that doesn't mean they aren't worthy candidates. Both are.
And with Newton (and James as well) involved in alleged mistakes of character, voters might use that small window of doubt to "make a statement" that the small conference schools produce players just as great as the SEC or Pac 10.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
No. 4: Newton Still Wins The Heisman
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Reason: It's Not Steroids or Paying Players
You could make the argument that Newton cheating on a few assignments at Florida did give the Gators a "competitive advantage": perhaps he was only eligible to play because he cheated on those assignments.
But that is not the same kind of major transgression that we are used to in college sports. Taking money to play at a school (Reggie Bush) is the type of violation that cannot be overlooked. Taking steroids is the type of violation that cannot be overlooked.
What Newton allegedly did is penne-ante compared to these violations. Was it wrong? Sure. But to take away the Heisman trophy from him is akin to killing a fly with a sledgehammer. Or that's at least what some will argue.
One "crime" is not always as heinous as another. Would SMU have gotten "the death penalty" back in the mid 1980s if their only violation was students cheating on their own, without the help of the program?
No. 3: No Heisman For Cam
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Reason: Old Cliches
Newton may or may not have committed all three of these transgressions. But the fact that they have surfaced will turn plenty of college football skeptics and (more importantly) Heisman trophy voters against Newton.
The sayings "where there's smoke, there's fire" and "three strikes and you're out" will start to be applied to Newton in the next few weeks. Even if he is innocent of the two most recent allegations.
The truth may prove he had nothing to do with the allegations that his transfer would cost a school $200,000 or that he cheated on those assignments at Florida. But any retraction won't be covered by the media with the type of zeal that it has for the story right now.
No. 3: Newton Still Wins The Heisman
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Reason: Proof
At this point, there isn't enough proof to "convict" Newton.
Forget about the laptop incident that cost him his stay in Gainesville. He'd done his penance for that already.
In order to preemptively take the trophy away from Newton (and make no mistake about it, in terms of performance, the award is his to lose: he would still win the award even if Auburn can still lose to Alabama or in the SEC Title game), the evidence would have to be so overwhelming that voters couldn't possibly ignore it.
That doesn't seem likely: this night become a case of "he said, she said." To take the trophy away from Newton for that would be unfair.
Furthermore, the fact that this is all coming out so late in the game (weeks before crowning Newton the winner) suggests that something fishy is going on. Why did this not surface back in Week One?
No. 2: No Heisman For Cam
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Reason: Tim Tebow
If the ghost of Reggie Bush is a factor on the minds of voters, then the ghost of Tim Tebow probably will be as well.
Tebow was portrayed as the perfect and ideal college football player. Not only was he great, rewriting the record books while leading his team to a national championship, but he was apparently a model human being.
He contributed time and effort to charitable causes, like doing missionary work in the Phillippines. Being an openly religious person and seemingly moral person only added to the mystic of "Saint Tebow."
The media may have over-hyped him both on and off the field, but considering he won the Heisman in 2008, he was a Heisman finalist the past three Decembers, and he just left the world of college football a year ago, it's going to be hard to overlook the contrast between Tebow and Newton.
No. 2: Newton Still Wins The Heisman
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Reason: College kids do dumb things
Because they are technically amateurs, occasionally college athletes get a pass in the media and aren't singled out as much for bonehead plays or mistakes that cost their team a game.
Referees don't even announce the number of the player who committed a penalty (while they do in the NFL) for that very reason.
But that isn't only true about college athletes. How often do people talk about "expreimenting" in college or "doing something stupid because I was in college."
Right or wrong, voters might feel that Newton was just a "young kid" who did something dumb while in college.
Both of Newton's apparent transgressions (he seems to be innocent of anything regarding the Mississippi State allegations last week) occurred back when he was at Florida. He was essentially kicked out of Gainesville and started over first in Junior College, then at Auburn.
If he was given a pardon for his mistakes at Florida, that could cover ALL of his mistakes there. The statute of limitations has run out.
No. 1: No Heisman For Cam
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Reason: The "Make An Example" Argument
For one, the NCAA may want to "make an example" out of Newton. And if the claims that he cheated are true, then they may have the authority to punish him, regardless of how long or how many schools ago they occured.
Now if he IS declared ineligible than the Heisman voters have no choice and they cannot even vote for him. But if he remains on the ballot, then the voters will still have an opportunity to "make an example" out of Newton.
Even without the Reggie Bush scandal, the image of college sports has not exactly been squeaky clean.
It may appear that they are looking down on Newton from their "high horse," but the older generation of voters, are probably disenchanted by what's going on in the sport, and that might cost him votes.
No. 1: Newton Still Wins The Heisman
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Reason: Dominance
Without the two most recent allegations against Newton, he would have run away with the Heisman Trophy. It wouldn't have been close.
LaMichael James, Andy Dalton, Kellen Moore and whomever else would not have been able to stop the momentum that Newton had built up during the month of October.
His individual stats, combined with Auburn's undefeated record, both in the supremely difficult SEC make him a better choice for the award than anyone in the country.
But without Newton, the Tigers might be a sub-.500 team. That same argument cannot be made about James, Dalton, Moore, or anyone else in the running. (Plus James, his best competitor, was also embroiled in some off the field trouble: he was suspended for the Ducks opener because he pled guilty to a harassment charge).
So even if Newton loses a handful of votes to reporters and Heisman winners who think their award is being tarnished by players like Reggie Bush, and possibly Newton, that probably won't be enough to cost him the trophy. It will just turn the race from landslide into a narrow win for Newton.
Conclusion/Analysis
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While the media and the fans have tremendous interest in this story, if this is all the facts we are given, they won't be enough to take the Heisman from Newton.
For one, the evidence isn't so damning that Newton must be punished. We don't know what is true and what isn't.
Secondly, there is still a month until the voting: some voters voter early, but plenty wait until early December. There may be another major story of corruption or scandal in college football at that point, and Newton's will go to the back burner.
Finally, in terms of football performance, Newton is head and shoulders above all the other candidates. Enough voters will remember that and they'll outweigh the voters who are "disappointed" in what Newton allegedly did.
Your 2010 Heisman Trophy winner will be Cameron Newton, quarterback, Auburn University.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
