Cam Newton Investigation Update: Did His Father Insist Upon 'Pay-for-Play'?
The Cam Newton investigation is the talk of the college football world right now with the allegations that Newton and his father talked of a pay-for-play plan during separate phone conversations with Mississippi State.
This is on top of the original allegations last week about Kenny Rogers supposedly saying it would take cash to land Newton and then the story about Newton's academic troubles during his time at the University of Florida.
Inside you'll find all of the news about Newton's situation and plenty of reaction to all of the allegations. Any thoughts on the situation? Leave them in the comments. If you were a Heisman voter, would Newton still get your vote? Let's hear it.
Pay-For-Play Plan?
1 of 12Joe Schad of ESPN is reporting that Cam Newton and his father Cecil Newton admitted in phone conversations that money would be a factor in where Newton went to school last year.
Mississippi State relayed the information to the SEC in January and two people who recruit for Mississippi State said that Cecil Newton told them it would take "more than a scholarship" to bring his son to the school.
The recruiter refused to do that and Newton referred him to a third person who would provide more specifics. When Newton finally committed to Auburn, the younger Newton called another recruiter to let him know his regret about not becoming a Bulldog.
He allegedly told him that he was going to Auburn because "the money was too much."
This situation has gotten out of hand quickly.
Family Reaction
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FoxSports.com got a hold of Cecil Newton to get his reaction on these latest allegations and his response was simple.
"I'm not going to confirm nor deny nothing that has been taking place," Newton said.
Newton also said he hadn't read the piece and didn't know anything about it.
"I've answered what I need to answer," Newton told FoxSports.com. "If they're out there, go with it and make the decision or determination based on whatever you've got to say."
The Fox Sports report also says that Newton called the allegations against his son a "witch hunt."
"They can continue doing whatever they're doing, sir," Newton said according to the report. "I'm just in support of my son."
Cheating at Florida?
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These pay-for-play allegations come on the heels of a report by FoxSports.com that said Cam Newton was almost expelled from Florida for academic cheating.
The report says that Newton was caught cheating three times, including one incident in which the quarterback put his name on another student's paper without that person's knowledge. When the plan was revealed, Newton turned in a second paper to the teacher.
The only issue is, that paper was bought off of the Internet. Newton was scheduled for a hearing about the situation but instead he transferred.
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Family Reaction
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FoxSports.com reached Cecil Newton for comment on his son's academic record at the University of Florida and he would not comment on his son's issues during his time as a Gator.
“I wasn’t there,” Newton said. “I cannot confirm or deny. At a time like this, I’m taking a defensive posture."
I think it's clear that he does know what happened. What father doesn't know what's going on with his son when he's at school? Either way, it was smart of him not to comment, especially at a time like this.
Cam's Reaction
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Cam Newton addressed the media about the cheating accusations yesterday but said that it did not bother him.
"Am I hurt? No. Am I curious? A little bit, but it really doesn't get to me that much," Newton said. "I'm a blessed individual."
Newton went on to say that he's not worried with seeing people punished who ask for money.
"For what? That's not me," Newton said. "The people that I have been faced with up to this point have been good people. I'm not here to bash anyone for what they said or what they did or what they allegedly did. I'm not here to do that. I'm here to go to school and win football games."
Gene Chizik's Reaction
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At his weekly press conference, Auburn head coach Gene Chizik put out a passionate defense of his quarterback.
“Let me tell you something: He’s the leader of the Heisman race because he deserves it. That’s fact,” Chizik said. “So distractions or whatever’s out there, whatever people want to drum up and dream up and try to distract, it is what it is and it’s not changing. Cameron’s going to be focused on playing Georgia this week. Nothing’s changed in terms of who he is and what he is. But he is like our son here, and I’ve got a problem with this, got a problem with it.”
That came after Chizik addressed the cheating allegations head on.
“Cameron Newton is one of the young men on our football team that has not only excelled as a tremendous athlete, he has done everything we have asked him to do since the day he stepped on campus at Auburn,” Chizik said. "So I want to make this very clear, because I'm wasting my time addressing allegations that completely, to be frank, blow my mind that they're even out there because there are federal privacy laws that dictate that these things don't even get out in public.
“But I'm standing up here on a very important week trying to defend something that quite frankly is garbage. Is there a wizard behind the curtain? I don't know. Is there one? Is there two? Are there 10? I don't know, and I don’t care. But what I do care about is coming to the defense of not only a great football player, but a great human being who comes from a great family.”
Jay Jacobs' Reaction
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Auburn Athletic Director Jay Jacobs released a statement about the cheating allegations surrounding Cam Newton and stressed that the star quarterback is eligible to play at Auburn.
"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," Jacobs said. "Cam has been and continues to be completely honest with us. Cam is, by all accounts, a great kid."
For his sake, I hope he's right about all of this.
Original Allegations
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The original allegations surfaced last week, when ESPN.com reported that Kenny Rogers told John Bond, a former Mississippi State player, that it would take some cash to land Newton.
Since then, these other allegations have come out one after another. The latest allegations tail off of the original, and the accusation that it would take money to bring Newton to a school.
Family Reaction
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When ESPN contacted Cecil Newton, he told them that if Kenny Rogers tried to get money from Mississippi State, he did it without the family's knowledge.
Newton said he met Rodgers two years ago when his son left Florida and spoke to him a couple of times to find out more about Mississippi State, but that the two hadn't met until Newton visited the school.
He went on to say that the family was contacted by the NCAA to get financial statements and said that he submitted bank statements and records for a church where he is the pastor along with other financial documents.
Cam's Reaction
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After last Saturday's game against Chattanooga, Cam Newton denied doing anything wrong when speaking to the media.
"I'm not going to entertain something that took place not three months, not six months, not a year but two years ago," Newton said. "I'm not going to sit up here and say anything about it, whether I did or did not do it, because I don't want to beat a dead horse talking about it. It's not going to affect me any way, shape or fashion."
He went on to profess his love for the school and the program.
"I haven't done anything wrong," Newton said. "I'm an Auburn athlete, and I'm still playing for Auburn. I love Auburn, and that's all I've got to say."
It will be interesting to hear what, if anything, Newton has to say about these latest allegations that surround him.
Fan Reaction
11 of 12ESPN reporter Mark Schlabach happened to be in Auburn on Saturday and he was not greeted well by the fans down there.
Schlabach is one of the reporters who wrote the original ESPN.com story that alleged that Newton was offered to Mississippi State for cash. This was not well received among Tigers' fans and they let him know by heckling him the entire time.
Poor Pedro Gomez, he just got caught in the crossfire. He could not possibly look more uncomfortable being in that situation. I bet he'd almost rather be following Barry Bonds across the country than go through that.
Media Reaction
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Yesterday, Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com posted a column about the original allegations against Cam Newton and criticized ESPN.com and the New York Times about their reporting of the situation.
In the original ESPN article, it makes it seem like John Bond, the former Mississippi State player who revealed the allegations, names Kenny Rogers as the man who told him about needing cash to land Newton.
The only issue is, that's not how it happened.
Bond heard the story fourth hand and wasn't approached by Rogers directly. So in reality, Bond's information is really a rumor. Doyel makes plenty of great points about the situation. You're really taking a risk running with information that isn't direct.
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